AmericanMafia.com completes its three-part series on the inconsistencies between three mob legends that participated in, and later wrote about, the Castellammarese War – Joseph Valachi, Charles "Lucky" Luciano and Joseph Bonanno.

     Our final installment looks at the murders that took place during the Castellammarese War and the disparity in the reporting.

Castellammarese War Death Toll

     According to Joseph Valachi in Peter Maas’ classic tale The Valachi Papers, the Castellammarese War would take the lives of "some sixty" men. When one examines the murders discussed by the principals, whose books we’ve been reviewing on this subject, a different picture emerges. In some respects it makes Valachi’s sixty man count look similar to the "Night of Sicilian Vespers" tale. If you recall, the fabled killings that took place in that alleged incident totaled anywhere from 30 to 60, depending on who was embellishing the story at the time. Is it possible that Valachi was including those he believed were killed in the "Nigh of Sicilian Vespers" in his count of 60?

     The Castellammarese War deaths in the three books we have been discussing are significantly low. In Bonanno’s A Man of Honor there are 10; The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano reveals 9; and The Valachi Papers also lists 9. Only seven killings are consistent throughout the three books and that includes Joseph Pinzolo, whose death was questionable as to if it pertained to the war. A total of 12 different names from the three books comprise the death toll from the Castellammarese War.

     Since there is some argument as to which murder actually began the Castellammarese War – Reina’s on February 26, 1930 or Milazzo’s killing on May 30 – we will begin with the earlier date. In discussing the disparity in the stories we will begin with The Valachi Papers, which was the first of the three books to be published, followed by The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano, and finish with Bonanno’s A Man of Honor.

February 26, 1930 – Gaetano "Tommy" Reina: Valachi states that as 1930 began Masseria was "bidding for absolute supremacy in the Italian underworld." In his bidding Masseria set out to eliminate Maranzano and all the Castellammarese powers in New York City and other parts of the country. In addition, Masseria also muscled in on one of his allies, Tommy Reina, who controlled most of the city’s ice distribution in a period before electric refrigeration. Valachi states that when Reina resisted Masseria’s attempts "Joe the Boss" had him killed.

     Luciano claims that Reina was in the process of changing allegiance from Masseria to Maranzano. This would break up a monopoly Luciano was working on in the garment industry with Reina’s underboss Tommy Lucchese and Lepke Buchalter. Masseria got word of Reina’s treachery and ordered Luciano to "keep Reina with me, and I don’t care how you do it, but do it." Luciano decided Reina had to go. He states, "I picked Vito for the job, with the instructions Reina had to get it face-to-face accordin’ to the rules." His book states, "Luciano learned that every Wednesday night, Reina had dinner with an aunt on Sheridan Avenue in the Bronx. On February 26, 1930, Genovese was waiting outside that house about eight o’clock in the evening. When Reina emerged, Genovese called to him, ‘Vito told me that when Reina saw him he started to smile and wave his hand. When he done that, Vito blew his head off with a shotgun.’"

     Bonanno doesn’t discuss the murder in his book other than to say Reina was murdered in the Bronx.

     The New York Times and the Herald Tribune described a more lurid ending. Reina had spent the evening with Mrs. Maria Ennis, a widow, whom Reina was obviously having an affair with. Reina had rented the Sheridan Avenue apartment where the couple was known as Mr. and Mrs. James Ennis. Reina also maintained a home on Rochambeau Avenue in the Bronx where the 40-year-old’s wife and nine children lived.

     When Reina and Ennis left the apartment together that night two men confronted them, one armed with a sawed-off shotgun. Reina took the force of the blast in the chest. The Bronx medical examiner "found ten slugs in the right side of Reina’s chest. The buttons of his shirt were ripped off and embedded in the skin."

     The police and newspapers said the killing was for revenge. Reina had turned state’s evidence in the November 1914 murder of Barnett Baff, a poultry dealer, and ratted on several men who received long prison sentences.

May 30, 1930 – Gaspar Milazzo and Sasa Parrino (murdered in Detroit): Valachi does not discuss the murders at all, in fact Milazzo’s name doesn’t appear in the index.

     Luciano claims Masseria sent gunmen to kill Milazzo, never mentioning Parrino in his book. Luciano says the murder solidified the Castellammarese under Maranzano and was the event which started the war. Luciano only mentions the Castellammarese War twice in his book.

     Bonanno is the only participant who mentions both Milazzo and Parrino and claims that after these murders the Castellammarese clans of New York City unite under Maranzano, who for the first time takes on a leadership role. Bonanno claims that after Cola Schiro fled in fear of his life, Masseria supported Sasa Parrino’s brother, Joseph, to "become the new father of the Castellammarese clan" in the city. He then simply states, "Joe Parrino was shot to death in a restaurant."

August 15, 1930 – Pietro "Peter the Clutching Hand" Morello and Giuseppe Pariano: Valachi credits "Buster from Chicago" with these murders. Valachi claims Buster described the shootings to him. "He said he kept running around the office, and Buster had to give him a couple of more shots before he went down. He said there was some other guy in the office, so he took him, too." Valachi’s only discussion of Morello is to say he’s a vicious enforcer for Masseria.

     Luciano describes Morello as Masseria’s "constant bodyguard and shadow." He states that he is told by Albert Anastasia that Morello has to be killed. Luciano claims he "handed the assignment to Anastasia and Frank Scalise. "…the two trapped Morello in his loansharking office in East Harlem and gunned him down. ‘There was another guy with him in the office, and he hadda get it too. Later on, I found out that his name was Pariano and he was a collector for Masseria. Albert told me that when he and Scalise walked in, Morello was countin’ receipts, and they grabbed the dough after they knocked him off; it come to more than thirty grand.’"

     Bonanno writes that Morello was the true mastermind of the Masseria forces. "Maranzano used to say that if we hoped to win the war we should get at Morello before the old fox stopped following his daily routines, as Maranzano had already stopped doing. Once Morello went undercover, Maranzano would say, the old man could exist forever on a diet of hard bread, cheeses and onions. We would never find him. Morello never got a chance to go on such a severe diet. He went to his Harlem office as usual one morning, along with two of his men. All three were shot to death."

     Bonanno was the only one to catch the fact that three men were killed during the shooting. Gaspar Pollaro, the uncle of Pariano was shot and later died in the hospital. It was reported that Morello was the stepbrother of Ciro Terranova, although the "Artichoke King" would deny this relationship vehemently after the murder. The building the men were murdered in on East 116^th Street was owned by Morello. He kept an office on the second floor and a living quarters on the fourth. He left behind a wife and five children.

September 5, 1930 – Joseph Pinzolo: Valachi states that Girolamo "Bobby Doyle" Santucci was the triggerman in this killing. Valachi quotes Santucci, "I get the break of my life. I caught him alone in the office."

     Luciano claims Dominic "The Gap" Petrilli "entered and put two shots into Pinzolo’s head, right to the face, according to the rules."

     Bonanno doesn’t name a shooter. He writes: "After the death of Peter Morello, Masseria went into hiding. He had lost Morello, and this was followed by the loss of Joe Pinzolo, the man Masseria had supported to head the Reina Family after the slaying of Tom Reina. People within the Reina Family eliminated Pinzolo. The Reina Family could no longer be counted on to aid Masseria."

     It’s questionable if this murder can be tied to the war itself. It was more or less the result of an internecine struggle for the leadership of the Reina Family that would have occurred whether there was a war going on or not. Pinzolo had been handpicked to lead the family by Masseria. However Gaetano Gagliano and Tommy Lucchese plotted his death and the take over of the family.

     The newspapers reported that Pinzolo was found in an office of the California Dry Fruit Importers on the tenth floor of the Brokaw Building on Broadway by a "scrubwoman." He had been shot twice in the back, twice in the chest and once in the side. Pinzolo, 43 years old, was married and had five children. Thomas Lucchese was indicted for the murder, but the charges were later dropped.

An interesting side note, both the New York Times and the Herald Tribune reported the office was leased to a Thomas Luckese. This is the same spelling which appears on his grave in Calvary Cemetery in Queens. For almost sixty years writers have used the Lucchese spelling although recently it has been appearing as Luchese.

October 23, 1930 – Joseph Aiello: Valachi only confirms that Aiello was cut down by machinegun fire.

     Luciano’s spin on the murder was that Al Mineo was sent to Chicago by Masseria to "handle things."

     Bonanno writes: "…the Castellammarese side lost Joe Aiello of Chicago. Earlier in the year, to escape harm from Al Capone, Aiello had sought and had been given refuge in Buffalo by Stefano Magaddino. However, against the advice of Magaddino and Maranzano, Aiello didn’t remain in Buffalo but returned to Chicago. Shortly after he returned there, Aiello was shot to death."

November 5, 1930 – Steven Ferrigno and Al Mineo: Valachi’s account of this double murder was discussed in Part One. Valachi put the killings at about 2:45pm.

     Luciano gives very few details in his book other than to say three killers ambushed the men. What I found questionable in Luciano’s telling is that he’s supposed to be Masseria’s second in command, which would mean both Ferrigno and Mineo were subordinates to him. Yet he offers no description of the men or any other information.

     Bonanno claims that Mineo headed what became the Gambino Family and had become Masseria’s chief strategist after the murder of Morello. Bonanno states the men were killed as they came out of the building "shortly after daybreak."

     Despite the relative importance of the two men and the fact that it was a double murder carried out in broad daylight, neither the New York Times nor the Herald Tribune ran the story on the front page. The papers did confirm the murders took place around mid-afternoon.

February 3, 1931 – Joseph "Joe the Baker" Catania: As mentioned in Part One of our series, Valachi is the only one who discusses this murder. His description seems laughable compared to the newspaper reports. Valachi claims they began stalking Catania in late January, taking an empty apartment in the Fordham section of the Bronx. Although Catania kept to the same routine the apartment didn’t offer them a good vantage-point. On the day of the shooting Valachi, Buster and two other gunmen forced their way into a ground floor apartment in the building before Catania was due to arrive across the street. Upon entering the apartment Valachi claims they encountered three painters "hard at work." The two gunmen lined the painters up against the wall and held them at gunpoint while Valachi and Buster went to the widow to wait. Valachi claimed Catania appeared with his wife.

     "How did it go?" Valachi asked.

     The newspapers reported that Catania had been entering the tobacco and candy store of Mrs. Emma Petrella, not an office. He was not in the company of his wife, but arrived there alone. Petrella had stepped into the kitchen area of the store to tend to her children when Catania walked back out to the sidewalk where he was shot.

     Meanwhile, the three "hard at work" painters, turned out to be just two painters who "sitting down to their noonday lunch." The painters told police that (instead of four men descending upon them and holding then at gunpoint) two masked men with sawed-off shotguns entered. "Get out, you," one of the gunmen snapped. With that both painters raced from the apartment. They were hardly outside the building when the shooting took place. Catania was rushed to Fordham Hospital where he died the following day.

April 15, 1931 – Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria: Valachi states that after the death of Catania the tide of war was turning against Joe the Boss, "two of Masseria’s most trusted sidekicks, Charley Lucky Luciano and Vito Genovese, secretly turned against him." Luciano invited Masseria to lunch at a Coney Island restaurant. "From all accounts," said Valachi, "Joe the Boss, surrounded by trusted aides, had a fine time during the meal – the last one he ever ate." According to Valachi, the "others in attendance" at Masseria’s killing were Vito Genovese, Frank Livorsi and Joseph Stracci.

     "Terranova, once a feared figure, did not behave well immediately after the slaying, according to Valachi.

     One has to wonder with Valachi’s total disdain for Terranova if he didn’t make up this tale to embarrass the old mob boss who died in 1938. From what we know Terranova was still active in the East Harlem rackets until his death.

     Luciano claims he spent the morning at Masseria’s Second Avenue office in Manhattan outlining his "blueprint" for the slaughter of Maranzano’s men. Around noon Luciano called the Nuova Villa Tammaro restaurant, owned by Gerardo Scarpato, and "ordered enough food to stuff a horse." Luciano claims that just the two of them entered the restaurant to have lunch and that it took Masseria three hours to get his fill. Around 3:30pm Luciano pulled out a deck of cards and, after playing one hand, excused himself to go use the men’s room.

     Bonanno wrote very little about Masseria’s death. "He died on a full stomach, and that leads me to believe he died happy."

     Both the New York Times and the Herald Tribune paint a much different picture from the ones we have heard for years. Interesting though is that neither newspaper mentions Luciano being there.

     The Herald Tribune reported Masseria "was an agent of the Unione Siciliano, an organization which has lived for years here by selling policy tickets and providing ‘protection’ to small shopkeepers scared into paying for it."

     The newspaper had Masseria arriving at the restaurant in his "armored steel car" in the company of three other men shortly before 3:00pm. Scarpato’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Anna Tammaro, waited on them while they played cards. According to two eyewitnesses, "two well dressed young men drove up and parked their car at the curb. They strolled leisurely into the place and the shooting began immediately. Some twenty shots were fired. Then the two gunmen came out without any visible signs of haste, entered their automobile and drove away." Masseria was hit with four bullets in the back and one in the back of the head. The bullets were identified as .32 and .38 caliber. In an alley next to the restaurant police recovered two guns matching those caliber bullets.

     The shooting brought 50 police officers and detectives as well as a crowd of onlookers estimated at 1,000. Inside the restaurant the hats and coats of Masseria’s fellow card players were left behind.

     Interviewed by police Anna Tammaro said, "the four men ordered coffee when they arrived, and after they started to play cards asked her to cook them some fish." When she left to purchase the fish the shooting occurred. Apparently Masseria did not enter the here after on a full stomach as everyone suggests.

     As for the infamous ace of diamonds stuck in the hand of the dead mob boss, the story goes that a newspaper reporter placed it there for affect.     

July 16, 1912 – Herman "Beansey" Rosenthal was a New York City gambler with ties to the legendary Arnold Rothstein. A popular figure on Broadway, Rosenthal crossed New York City police lieutenant Charles Becker by refusing to deliver kickbacks to the crooked cop. Becker organized a hit team to have Rosenthal murdered. He was shot to death outside the Hotel Metropole on 43^rd Street eight hours before a scheduled grand jury appearance. Five people, including Becker, would pay with their lives in the Sing Sing death chamber for the murder.

July 16, 1921 – Steve Wisniewski, according to Chicago gangland lore, was the first man to be "taken for a ride" during that city’s Prohibition warfare. The six-foot, two-inch, 250-pound Wisniewski was found in a patch of brush six miles from Libertyville, Illinois. His identity was a mystery for four days until his sister viewed the body in the Waukegan morgue.

July 16, 1972 – Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli was part of the triumvirate, along with Gerardo Catena and Mike Miranda, selected to hold down the fort when Vito Genovese went to prison on a narcotics conviction in 1959. When Genovese died in prison in 1969, Eboli would finally be elevated to boss. Around 1:00 am on the morning of his death, Eboli was leaving the apartment of a girlfriend in the Crown Heights district of Brooklyn. When he reached his automobile he was shot five times in the head and neck. Some consider it a gesture of nobility on the part of his assassins that they shot him after he left the apartment allowing him one last moment of pleasure before departing this world. See my story http://www.americanmafia.com/Allan_May_4-26-99.html

July 17, 1927 – Dominic Cinderello was a member of the Joe Aiello gang who was murdered during the war against Al Capone. He was the last of six victims killed during a six-week stretch in the summer of 1927.

July 17, 1956 – Louis "Lou Rhody" Rothkopf was one of four members of the infamous Cleveland Syndicate. Rothkopf with associates Mo Dalitz, Morris Kleinman and Sammy Tucker began as rumrunners and following Prohibition invested their profits in Las Vegas hotels and casinos. Rothkopf’s death at the age of 52 was mysterious. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning at his spacious estate in Bainbridge Township, Ohio. While some reports claim it was accidental, other reports say it was a suicide, although no note was left behind. In June 1955 Rothkopf’s wife, Blanche, committed suicide after suffering from a bout of depression.

July 17, 1961 – James V. "Vince" DeNiro was one of the leading underworld figures in the Mahoning Valley during the 1950s and early 1960s. Involved in gambling and numbers, the 39-year-old met a brutal death when his automobile was wired with a bomb on a hot Sunday night in the Uptown section of Youngstown.

July 18, 1935 – Leland "Two-Gun Louie Alterie" Varain, survived Chicago’s murderous bootleg wars only to die when he attempted to move in on the Motion Picture Operator’s union. Alterie was standing with his wife outside their home at the Eastwood Towers when assassins in a room in a flat across the street opened fire. Alterie died from 12 shotgun pellets.

July 18, 1984 – Dominic Brooklier, according to Organized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi, was the boss of the Los Angeles Family from the death of Nick Licata in October 1974 until his death. He died in prison while serving a five-year sentence and was succeeded by Peter John Milano.

July 18, 1984 – Joanne Lombardo and Angelo John Sepe were found murdered in a basement apartment on 20^th Avenue in the Bensonhurst area of Brooklyn. In The Heist the authors claim that a week prior to his death Sepe had robbed a mob connected dealer. When payback time came it was in the form of two Mafia hoods with pistols equipped with silencers. "Before he could ask the hoods not to harm his girlfriend, they put three bullets into his head. Then they walked into a tiny sleeping alcove. One of the gunmen put his gun into the open mouth of the sleeping girl and pulled the trigger." Sepe, a longtime associate of James "Jimmy the Gent" Burke, was believed to have been a participant in the infamous Lufthansa heist in December 1978. See my story http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters3/lufthansa/

July 19, 1974 – Stefano Magaddino was the longtime leader of the Buffalo Mafia Family taking over following the death of Joseph Peter DiCarlo in 1922. Magaddino was an original member of the Commission. Magaddino’s control extended into Canada, covered the Ohio Valley and most of Western New York. He died of a heart ailment in Mount St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston, New York at the age of 82.

July 20, 1976 – Thomas Devaney, a one-time associate of Hell’s Kitchen mobster Mickey Spillane, was gunned down in a bar and grill on Lexington Avenue. It was rumored that Devaney may have been shifting his allegiance toward James "Jimmy" Coonan.

July 21, 1921 – Andrew Orlando, a friend and supporter of Anthony D’Andrea, died during the "Bloody 19^th Ward War" in Chicago. An eyewitness told police, "Orlando’s car was facing east and a ‘chummy roadster’ was facing west. At the moment he noticed the cars six or eight shots fired, then four or five men sprang from the rear seat of Orlando’s car, entered the other machine and sped west." The witness’s count must have been a little off. Police said Orlando had eleven bullets in his head and back.

AmericanMafia.com attempts to keep its audience advised of ongoing legal matters in the world of organized crime. New entries and addition to existing information will appear in RED.

July 15, 2002 – Boston – The trial of Eric O. Schneiderman, a US Army officer and the son of Richard J. Schneiderman, for lying to the grand jury about his father’s relationship with Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi is scheduled to begin. AM.com thanks Boston Herald reported J.M. Lawrence for the update.

July 29, 2002 – Cleveland – Richard E. Detore goes to trial on one count of conspiring to violate a federal bribery statute involving United States Congressman James A. Traficant, Jr.

September 9, 2002 – Camden – The trial of Daniel M. Daidone and James R. Mathis, Jr. is scheduled to begin. Both are charged with corruption involving disgraced mayor Milton Milan. Daidone answered to former Philadelphia mob boss Ralph Natale, who is expected to testify. The federal trial will be in the courtroom of US District Judge Joseph H. Rodriquez. (A May 20 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer says the Mathis trial is scheduled for December 3.)

September 2002 – Boston – Retired state trooper Richard J. Schneiderman goes on trial on charges that he hampered the FBI’s search for James "Whitey" Bulger by letting Bulger family members know that the FBI had requested pen registers on their telephones. The trial was originally scheduled for January 28, then rescheduled for June 24. AM.com thanks J. M. Lawrence for this update.

September 2002 – Hackensack, NJ – The racketeering trial of Danny Provenzano is "tentatively" scheduled to get underway. The great-nephew of Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano is charged with extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars through fear, intimidation and violence.

POSTPONED INDEFINITELY – Rochester, NY – Albert M Ranieri goes on trial for conspiracy to traffic cocaine. Since his arrest on December 29, 2000, another defendant, prominent defense attorney Anthony Leonardo, Jr., has pled guilty and implicated Ranieri in the May 2000 murder of his former business partner Anthony Vaccaro. Authorities also suspect Ranieri of a 1990 armor car heist of $11 million. On July 8 the deputy court clerk for Judge Jonathan Feldman has informed AM.com that no date has been established for this trial.

September 9, 2002 – Boston – The racketeering trial of Robert Luisi, Jr. is scheduled to get underway before US District Court Judge Reginald C. Lindsay. Luisi at one time had a plea agreement which called for him to testify against Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino last year. On December 27, 2001 Luisi withdrew the plea.

STILL WAITING FOR RESULTS ON THIS ONE – May 28, 2002 – Boston – US District Judge Robert E. Keeton will hear arguments on the April 16 conviction of Michael L. Carucci. The judge will decide whether to uphold the conviction or overturn the six convictions the jury arrived at. Carucci was found guilty of transferring money earned from the criminal activity of Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi, who earlier pled guilty to the same charges. AM.com thanks our friend J. M. Lawrence of the Boston Herald for informing us "Keeton did the Carucci arguments but did not rule yet. His comments from the bench were critical of the prosecution. This is one to watch." In checking with Judge Keeton’s office AM.com has been told no decision has been made yet.

NO WORD ON THIS – May 2, 2002 – Rochester Thomas Marotta plead guilty of federal narcotics charges and is waiting sentencing. US District Judge David Larimer’s deputy court clerk tells AM.com no date has been set for the sentencing.

NO WORD ON THIS – May 17, 2002 – New York – Colombo Family underboss John "Jackie" DeRoss will be sentenced for his February 6 conviction on extortion charges.

NO WORD ON THIS – May 2002 – New York – Donna Curra, wife of Dominick "Little Dom" Curra, is scheduled to be sentenced for lying to the FBI after her husband fled on Christmas Eve 2001 to Costa Rica. She is looking at a 6 to 12 month stretch. Meanwhile, "Little Dom" remains in a Costa Rica jail fighting extradition.

June 13, 2002 – New York – Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico will be sentenced after pleading guilty to extortion, loansharking and money laundering. The son of jailed-for-life mobster Carmine "the Snake" Persico was the alleged "acting boss of the Colombo family.

July 15, 2002 – Boston – Michael Flemmi, the brother of notorious Winter Hill Gang member Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi, will be sentenced for his May 3 conviction of obstruction of justice and perjury. Michael Flemmi helped hide the arsenal of the Winter Hill Gang and lied to a grand jury about it.

July 23, 2002 – Las Vegas – Anthony Cuccia faces a possible life sentence for the senseless murder of Philip Greenspan in the Stardust casino. Cuccia was convicted of first degree murder on June 18.

July 30, 2002 – Cleveland – Mahoning Valley Congressman James A. Traficant, Jr., will be sentenced after being found guilty on all ten counts in a Federal trial which ended April 11. The sentencing was originally scheduled for June 27.

September 9, 2002 – Camden – Robert E. Gibson, the former Camden sewer superintendent and a 40-year employee of the city, will be sentenced for accepting illegal payments. Gibson claimed he was swept up in the corruption of disgraced mayor Milton Milan’s administration. He is looking at 18 to 24 months.

September 12, 2002 – Boston – Disgraced former FBI agent "Dishonest John" Connolly will be sentenced for his May 28 conviction on one count of racketeering and two counts of obstruction of justice and lying to investigators. He is looking at from 8 to 20 years. This was originally scheduled for August 7.

September 26, 2002 – Cleveland – Henry DiBlasio, a former aide to US Congressman James A. Traficant, Jr., will be sentenced for lying to a Federal grand jury about paying kickbacks to the congressman. DiBlasio, 72 years old, could be sentenced to as much as 16 months in prison.

October 28, 2002 – Newark – Eugene Wilson, indicted last year with eight others including Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, will be sentenced after pleading guilty this past June 27 to gambling and running an illegal gambling operation.

NO WORD ON THIS – New York – Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano is STILL waiting to be sentenced. US District Judge Allyne Ross’ office informs AM.com that the judge is still reviewing the pre-sentencing material.

Contact: AllanMay@AmericanMafia.com

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