Cosa Nostra History

26/01/2024

It’s Friday. Where are you heading to tonight?

21/01/2024

Frank Costello, born Francesco Castiglia in 1891, was a major figure in American organized crime during the 20th century. He earned himself various nicknames like “The Prime Minister of the Underworld” and “Uncle Frank” throughout his notorious career. Here’s a summary of his key roles:

- Powerful Mob Boss:
As part of the Luciano crime family, he held significant influence and power within the Mafia structure.
He rose through the ranks, becoming a close associate of Lucky Luciano and later assuming some of his control when Luciano was deported.
He wielded influence over various criminal activities, including bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution.

- Political Connections:
Costello was known for his strong connections to politicians and other powerful figures in New York City.
He used his charm and savvy to cultivate these relationships, gaining valuable protection and influence.
These connections often helped him navigate legal trouble and maintain his operations.

- Survivor of Mob Wars:
Costello navigated the treacherous world of organized crime, surviving several violent Mob wars and power struggles.
He famously survived an assassination attempt in 1957, solidifying his reputation as a cunning and resourceful leader.

- Retirement and Legacy:
Despite relinquishing power after the assassination attempt, Costello remained a respected figure within the Mafia until his death in 1973.
He continued to wield influence and hold sway over Mafia affairs, showcasing his lasting impact on the underworld.
Costello’s life and career offer a glimpse into the complex world of organized crime and the power dynamics within its structure. He remains a prominent figure in American history, serving as a reminder of the dark side of power and influence.

20/01/2024

Paul Castellano, the once-untouchable boss of the Gambino crime family.

Carlo Gambino himself controversially bestowed Castellano as the new boss of the Gambino Family instead of the highly respected Aniello “Neil” Dellacroce. He ruled New York’s underworld with an iron fist in the 70s and 80s and his empire stretched from loan-sharking to construction rackets, making him one of the most powerful Mafia figures of his time.

But beneath the old-school swagger, tensions simmered. A new generation, led by the ambitious John Gotti, hungered for change. The feeling was that Castellano was too businesslike and too greedy.

In 1985, the unthinkable happened. Big Paul was gunned down outside Sparks Steakhouse in a hit that sent shockwaves through the underworld.

⚰️ His death marked a bloody turning point, ushering in a new era of Mafia power struggles and violence.

The legacy of Big Paul is a tale of power, betrayal, and the ever-shifting tides of organized crime.

19/01/2024

The Bergin Hunt and Fish Club, synonymous with the Gambino crime family and notably associated with former Gambino boss John Gotti, was situated at 98-04 101st Avenue in Ozone Park, Queens, part of New York City.

This establishment held a special place for both John Gotti and his son, John A. (Junior) Gotti, serving as a favored location for them. Widely recognized as John Gotti’s not-so-secret headquarters, the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club gained worldwide fame. Subsequently, it was utilized by Peter Gotti, John’s brother and successor as the Gambino boss.

Revered as “The Dapper Don,” John Gotti left a lasting impact on the Ozone Park neighborhood, charming local residents and business owners. He was known for hosting extravagant Fourth of July celebrations annually.

In the early 1980s, the FBI first recorded the voice of the Gotti family at the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club, a seemingly unremarkable pair of brick storefronts that were internally connected. Despite its unassuming exterior, the club was a hub of activity, with individuals constantly coming and going. On pleasant days, the crew would gather outside for discussions.

The club’s closure in 2005 marked the conclusion of a notorious chapter in Mafia history. Since its infamous shutdown, the location has housed various businesses, transforming from a symbol of organized crime to a diverse array of establishments, including a health club, printing shop, medical supplies company, and pet grooming salon.

30/10/2023

The Ravenite Social Club was located at 247 Mulberry Street in Little Italy, New York City. Famous for being the place where John Gotti held private meetings here in a second floor apartment, while unknowingly being bugged by the FBI. This ultimately led to the arrest and subsequent indictment of Gotti. He died in prison in 2002. The club is now a shoe store.

The club was founded in 1926 first as the Alto Knights Social Club (after an old street gang during Prohibition) and it became a hangout for Lucky Luciano and others.

Carlo Gambino took over in 1957 and he renamed the club "The Ravenite" after his favorite poem "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe. Gambino stopped using the club when he discovered police were keeping a closer eye on it.

Infamous and respected Gambino heavyweight, Aniello "Neil" Dellacroce then took over. It was frequented and used as the headquarters of the Gambino crime family throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. When Dellacroce died and John Gotti took over he made it his center of operations and expected his capos to pay him respect at the club weekly.

Around 1990, the FBI was able to infiltrate the club and an apartment above it, installing voice recorders and other wiretaps. The FBI then used recordings against Gotti. Exterior surveillance also recorded numerous union officials outside the Ravenite Social Club, helping the FBI in connecting the boss of the Gambino crime family to the city's labor unions.

09/03/2023

James Failla, also known as "Jimmy Brown," held a prominent position as a capo within the Gambino crime family and was a significant player in the garbage-hauling industry in New York. His crew was primarily based in Brooklyn, but also operated in Staten Island, Manhattan, and New Jersey.

Throughout the 50s, Failla formed a close relationship with Carlo Gambino, who served as the underboss to Albert Anastasia, the boss of what would eventually become the Gambino crime family. Failla went on to work as Gambino's chauffeur and bodyguard, and following the 1957 murder of Anastasia, Failla was appointed by Gambino as his representative in the waste-hauling industry.

Failla's reputation as one of New York's most revered and dreaded racketeers made him one of the top earners of his time. He was known for his preference for wearing brown clothing, which led to his nickname "Jimmy Brown." Despite his wealth and power, he lived a modest lifestyle.

Failla was widely known by law enforcement as a cautious and discreet mobster who was constantly on guard against electronic surveillance. During the FBI's bugging of Gambino boss Paul Castellano's home in 1983, Failla was present for numerous meetings, but barely spoke a word in the six-month period he was recorded.

Failla's partnership with the Genovese crime family grew stronger over time, and it was rumored that they wanted him to become the boss of the Gambino family after a failed assassination attempt on John Gotti.

In 1989, Failla was involved in the murder of Gambino member Thomas Spinelli, who had testified before a grand jury and was scheduled to appear again. Gambino underboss Sammy Gravano ordered the hit. When Gotti was imprisoned in 1990, he appointed Failla as acting boss of the family.

In 1991, Gravano became a government informant and implicated Failla in the 1989 Spinelli murder. In 1993, Failla was charged with racketeering and murder, and in 1994, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder in a plea bargain deal.

He died in 1999 of natural causes in a federal prison in Texas.

09/03/2023

In 1981, Paul Castellano constructed his extravagant 17-room mansion on Staten Island, known as The White House, at a cost exceeding a million dollars.

The mansion featured a spacious Olympic-sized swimming pool, an English garden, and is adorned with high-quality Carrara marble.

To support his opulent lifestyle, Castellano demanded a 15% cut from his capos' earnings, an increase from the customary 10%. This decision proved fatal as many of his capos were already struggling financially, and the combination of Paul's lavish mansion and the heightened monthly tribute sowed the seeds that eventually led to his assassination.

(Image 1 shows how 'The White House' looked in Castellano's time. Image 2 shows how it looks today, having been extended and modified significantly by new owners.)

06/03/2023

J. Edgar Hoover was the Director of the FBI from 1935 to 1972 and did not publicly acknowledge the existence of the Italian-American criminal organization known as the "Cosa Nostra" or Mafia until the 1950s.

There is no conclusive evidence to suggest that the Mafia blackmailed Hoover into not pursuing organized crime investigations. While there have been rumors and speculation about Hoover's relationship with the Mafia, there is little concrete evidence to support the notion that the Mafia had any leverage over him.

Hoover was known to have a complicated relationship with organized crime, and he was initially hesitant to acknowledge the existence of the Mafia. However, by the 1950s, the FBI began to focus more heavily on organized crime, and Hoover was instrumental in building the case against high-profile Mafia figures like Lucky Luciano and Carlo Gambino.

There have been allegations that the Mafia had compromising information on Hoover, such as evidence of his alleged homosexuality, which they could use to manipulate him. However, there is little concrete evidence to support these claims, and they are largely based on hearsay and speculation.

Overall, while the relationship between Hoover and the Mafia was complex and controversial, there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that the Mafia blackmailed Hoover into not pursuing organized crime investigations.

05/03/2023

Founded in 1967 and distributed by MGM, Buddha Records was a record label partially owned by Colombo underboss John "Sonny" Franzese as a silent partner.

The label released music from a diverse range of genres, including artists such as Gladys Knight & the Pips, Bill Withers, and the Isley Brothers. Morris Levy, a music industry figure, attempted to extort money from the label for a cut of the Shangrilas' hit "Remember (Walking in the Sand)”. However, Franzese intervened, dissuading Levy from pursuing the matter.

Franzese was also a partner of club owner Norbie Walters, and they later became business partners in Walters' management and booking agency. When Franzese went to prison, his son Michael took over many of his operations, including work with Walters' businesses.

When Franzese was released, he met with Walters to discuss money that Franzese believed Walters owed him from their music business dealings. Walters denied their partnership, prompting Franzese to threaten him with violence. Franzese asked him “If I put a bullet through your head, and that pastrami sandwich lands with your brains all over the table, would that refresh your memory?” Fortunately, Michael was able to defuse the situation, and Walters survived the encounter.

03/03/2023

The song "Joey" by Bob Dylan is a fictional account based on the life of Joey Gallo, a notorious New York City mobster who was associated with the Profaci crime family (later known as the Colombo crime family). While the song is based on some real-life events and people, it should be taken as a work of fiction rather than a completely accurate depiction of Gallo's life.

Some elements of the song, such as Gallo's involvement in a restaurant business and his feud with fellow mobster Joe Colombo, are based on real events. However, other parts of the song, such as the portrayal of Gallo as a hero fighting against corruption and injustice, are more mythic than realistic.

Overall, while the song "Joey" is an interesting and evocative piece of art, it should not be relied on as a primary source of information about Joey Gallo or organized crime in New York City.

02/03/2023

Arnold Rothstein was an American businessman and gambler who was born on January 17, 1882, and died on November 6, 1928. He is often referred to as the "Big Bankroll" and was known for his involvement in organized crime during the Prohibition era. He was not Italian but was highly influential in what became known as Cosa Nostra.

Rothstein was born in Manhattan and grew up in a wealthy Jewish family. He quickly became involved in gambling and was known for his shrewd business sense and his ability to fix games. He was a major figure in the world of organized crime, and he was involved in a wide range of illegal activities, including bootlegging, gambling, and narcotics trafficking.

One of Rothstein's most famous exploits was his alleged involvement in the fixing of the 1919 World Series, also known as the Black Sox Scandal. He reportedly paid members of the Chicago White Sox to intentionally lose the series, which earned him a significant amount of money. While he was never convicted of the crime, his involvement was widely suspected and he became a notorious figure in American crime history.

Rothstein was also known for his connections to other notable gangsters of the era, including Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky. He was murdered in 1928, and the circumstances of his death remain a mystery to this day.

01/03/2023

Joe Colombo (1930-1978) was an Italian-American mobster who founded the Italian-American Civil Rights League (IACRL) in 1970. Colombo, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, was a high-ranking member of the Colombo crime family, one of the five families that dominated organized crime in New York City during the 20th century.

Colombo's creation of the IACRL was controversial, as many saw it as a front for the mafia's criminal activities. However, Colombo insisted that the league was a legitimate organization devoted to fighting discrimination against Italian-Americans. The league gained national attention in 1971 when Colombo was shot and critically wounded at a rally for the league in New York City. Colombo died seven years later from complications related to the shooting.

Despite his criminal background, Colombo's creation of the IACRL is seen as an early example of a mobster using public relations to gain legitimacy and public support.

23/01/2023

"You've spelt it wrong - it's Bergen Hunt and Fish Club, not Bergin Hunt and Fish Club"

We've heard this quite a few times. The club did actually have a sign in a window (not quite as nice as the hand painted one at Fat Tony's Palma Boys Social Club!) and the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club was actually incorporated as nonproift association.

As explained in Selwyn Raab's superb book, Five Families:
"Distressed by the influx of African Americans and Hispanics into East New York, Carmine Fatico, the Gambino capo, had moved his headquarters to a storefront in the predominantly white and Italian working-class neighborhood of South Ozone Park. The hangout was incorporated - sardonically-as a nonprofit association called the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club. The name apparently was a nostalgic misspelling of Bergen Street in East New York, the gang's roots."

The social club went on to become famous in Queens as John Gotti’s not-so-secret base of operations.

20/01/2023

Genovese crime family boss, Vincent 'Chin' Gigante's brother was the Roman Catholic Priest, Reverend Louis Gigante.

Reverend Gigante died in 2022 and following his death it was revealed that not only did he have a secret fortune - he also had a son that few knew he had.

It wasn’t until his 19 October death that his will revealed that he had a 32-year-old son, going against the Catholic requirement that priests remain celibate, and a fortune worth $7m.

His son, Luigino Gigante was born in 1990 and grew up in Somers, Westchester County, about an hour from his father’s parish – the St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church. Father Gigante and his son lived with the child’s mother.

“We had a quiet life,” Mr Gigante said, now 32. "He was proud of me. We did everything together."

Of his father’s priesthood, the younger Mr Gigante said: "It was just like another quirky thing."

31/08/2022

Robert De Niro to play Vito Genovese and Frank Costello in new movie

Robert De Niro is reported to be reuniting with Goodfellas book writer Nicholas Pileggi. The new movie, Wiseguy, is centered on warring crime family figureheads in the '50s, Vito Genovese and Frank Costello. De Niro will apparently play BOTH mob bosses.

The Hollywood Reporter describes it as “centered on Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, two Italian-American crime bosses that ran their respective families in the middle of the 20th century,” the movie is very much embedded in cut-throat truth. “In 1957, Genovese attempted to assassinate Costello but failed, although he was wounded and decided to retire, as much as one can retire from the mafia.”

In 1936, Genovese became head of one of New York's famous Five Families, but fled to Italy amid fears that he'd be indicted on murder charges from earlier in the decade. He stayed there until the end of the war, variously supporting Mussolini and the Allies, when he was shipped back to New York to be tried on murder charges. Two key witnesses were murdered, the case fell apart, and Genovese was acquitted — but in the meantime, Costello had become the head of the Luciano crime syndicate.

In May 1957, Genovese ordered Costello's assassination to reclaim the power he'd lost two decades prior. Fortunately for the latter, the bullet (fired by Chin Gigante) only resulted in a flesh wound. Nevertheless, it was enough to persuade Costello it was time to take an early retirement.

There's no release date yet but is expected to be at least two years away.

30/08/2022

Fat Tony's ranch for sale! 👀💰

The horse farm that once belonged to Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, the late boss of New York's Genovese crime family, is now for sale for $1.5 million. The 98-acre property, called "Tony's Horse Farm" in the listing, has beautiful mountain views, over a mile of riding trails, and an in-ground pool. It was a peaceful spot for Salerno to stay at while he was in between stints in prison in the 1970s and 1980s for racketeering, loansharking, and illegal gambling.

The realtor, Zev Eisenberg of Hudson Modern, said he’s opting to market the Hudson Valley property on its merits rather than its past.

“It’s certainly steeped in history, but we decided that the many unique selling points were better to focus on,” Eisenberg told The Real Deal in an email. “It’s also extremely private – one of the reasons Tony bought it in the first place!”

30/07/2022

30/07/2022

The Ravenite Social Club was located at 247 Mulberry Street in Little Italy, New York City. Famous for being the place where John Gotti held private meetings here in a second floor apartment, while unknowingly being bugged by the FBI. This ultimately led to the arrest and subsequent indictment of Gotti. He died in prison in 2002. The club is now a shoe store.

Long before Gotti took control, 247 Mulberry Street had been a hangout for mafioso. From the 1930s it passed through the hands of notorious mobsters like Joseph La Forte Sr. and Aniello Dellacroce.

Some sources say the club was founded in 1926 first as the Alto Knights Social Club (after an old street gang during Prohibition) and it became a hangout for Lucky Luciano and others. It is said that Carlo Gambino took over in 1957 and he renamed the club "The Ravenite" after his favorite poem "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe. Gambino stopped using the club when he discovered police were keeping a closer eye on it. Other sources say this is not true and that the famously low-key Gambino never frequented social clubs.

Aniello "Neil" Dellacroce takes over...

One thing that is known for sure is that infamous and respected Gambino heavyweight, Aniello "Neil" Dellacroce took over club in the 1960s. He used the Ravenite as an “underworld kangaroo court” and is also rumoured to have used the club to hold discussions seeking support to remove Carlo Gambino as head of the family.

It was frequented and used as the headquarters of the Gambino crime family throughout the late 1970s and 1980s.

14/06/2022

Francesco Castiglia, better known as Frank Costello, was famously described as “the prime minister of organized crime.”

He was born on January 26, 1891, in Lauropoli, a small town in Calabria, and moved to New York a few years later, together with his father, mother and brother.

Costello met Charlie "Lucky" Luciano and they became friends and partners. Several older members of Luciano's mob family disapproved of working with non-Sicilians and warned him against working with Costello, whom they called "the dirty Calabrian.”

Along with Bugsy Siegel, Vito Genovese, Joe Adonis, Albert Anastasia and Meyer Lanksy, Luciano and Costello were heavily involved in bootlegging during prohibition and also participated in the Castellammarese War.

Following the extradition of Lucky Luciano, who was forced to leave the United States in 1946, Costello became the boss of the family.

For a full year, beginning in May 1950, the U.S. Senate conducted an investigation of organized crime. A lineup of criminal types testified before the Kefauver commission, including gangsters, bookies, and pimps, but among all of them it was Costello who was the star attraction. It is said that his raspy voice during these hearings was Marlon Brando’s inspiration when portraying Vito Corleone in The Godfather.

In early 1957, Vito Genovese decided to move on Costello. Vincent “Chin” Gigante was ordered to murder Costello, and on May 2, 1957, Gigante shot and wounded Costello outside his apartment building. The altercation persuaded Costello to relinquish power to Genovese and retire. Genovese then controlled what is now called the Genovese crime family.

During his retirement, Costello was still known as "The Prime Minister of the Underworld". He still retained power and influence in New York's Mafia and remained busy throughout his final years.

On February 18, 1973, he died of heart failure at the age of eighty-two.

13/06/2022

The rules and traditions of Cosa Nostra have always been mysterious and closely guarded.

Some rules are contentious e.g. is drug related business allowed?

And some rules change e.g. one or both parents being Italian to be inducted into Cosa Nostra in the USA.

In 2007 Italian police were surprised to have found what they described a "Ten Commandments"-style code of behaviour for Mafia members, at the hideout of a captured Mafia boss.

The list was found during the arrest of Salvatore Lo Piccolo, reputed boss of the Sicilian Mafia at the time.

Prohibitions include frequenting bars and looking at friends' wives, while members are urged to treat their own wives with respect.

It is thought to have been drawn up as a "guide to being a good mobster".

Other off-limits activities for Mafiosi are being friends with the police, being late for appointments and "appropriating money if it belongs to other Mafia members or to other families".

The document makes clear that people with police or informers in their family cannot become members of the Mob.

The Sicilian Mafia's "Ten Commandments"
1. No-one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do it.
2. Never look at the wives of friends.
3. Never be seen with cops.
4. Don't go to pubs and clubs.
5. Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty - even if your wife's about to give birth.
6. Appointments must absolutely be respected.
7. Wives must be treated with respect.
8. When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth.
9. Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families.
10. People who can't be part of Cosa Nostra: anyone who has a close relative in the police, anyone with a two-timing relative in the family, anyone who behaves badly and doesn't hold to moral values.

12/06/2022

When FBI forensic accountants examined the income tax returns of Joe Massino and his wife Josie something that stood out was the incredible gambling successes they enjoyed.

On their joint income tax statements they included lottery winnings totaling almost $500,000 over four years in the 1990s. Agents doubted that any couple could be so inordinately lucky year after year, but never they conclusively determined whether the lottery success was due to pure luck or something more underhand.

One consensus speculated that Massino used his power to obtain winning lottery tickets, offering a premium to the legitimate holders who turned them over to him. This would allow him to launder his illicit earnings - the actual lottery winners got cash that was unreported to the IRS, and Massino, if audited, could cite the lottery prizes as legitimate income to account for his comfortable standard of living.

11/06/2022

It’s Saturday, what do you have planned for tonight?

Here’s a rare pic of Neil Dellacroce & Armond ‘Tommy’ Rava at The Copacabana nightclub in the 1950s.

Does anyone know if Frank Costello still had a piece of the Copa at this point?

27/04/2022

In 1962 Carlo Gambino's son, Thomas Gambino, married Tommy Lucchese's daughter Frances. Over 1,000 guests attended the lavish wedding that was said to be the inspiration for the opening scene in the first Godfather film where Connie Corleone marries Carlo.

When Tommy Lucchese died in 1967, his interests in the garment industry were passed to Thomas Gambino, eventually making him an incredibly wealthy man.

The mob's interests in the garment industry were huge. It was said that organised crime had almost total control over the forty square blocks of New York City that makes up the Garment Center. They ran every level of the industry, from total ownership of large manufacturing firms, all the way down to running delivery trucks and catering services. Of course more 'traditional' mob activities such as loan sharking, theft of pension funds, no show jobs and protection rackets were in operation.

To gain evidence against Gambino's trucking monopoly the FBI set up a small garment factory in the Chinatown section of Manhattan, with New York State Police troopers posing as supervisors. The government offered Gambino a plea bargain that included a guilty admission, a $12 million restitution payment, and a promise to leave the garment trucking business. In February 1992, Gambino accepted the plea bargain and avoided prison.

It was a brief reprieve though - Sammy the Bull turned government witness and testified against his former colleagues, including Gambino. Gambino was convicted of two counts of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy and was sentenced to a five-year prison sentence.

Thomas Gambino was released from prison in May 2000 and is now believed to be long retured and living in Florida.