Pittsburgh crime family
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The Pittsburgh crime family is a criminal organization based in Pittsburgh and parts of northeastern Pittsburgh in the United States.
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[edit] Impact of the Pittsburgh Crime Family
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[edit] History of the Pittsburgh Crime Family
[edit] Brief History
The Pittsburgh faction of La Cosa Nostra was founded in 1926 by Stefano Monastero. Monastero was successful in the usual mob rackets like protection money, gambling, and bootlegging. Joseph Siragusa succeeded Monastero in Pittsburgh and was boss from 1929 until 1931, when he was murdered in a move that was likely due to his close association with New York City mobster Salvatore Maranzano, who had been killed three days earlier. John Bazzano ruled the family for two years, but he was stricken with a very serious illness and died early in 1933. Vincenzo Capizzi was the family's head from 1933 until 1937. Capizzi was the first boss to bring national attention to the Pittsburgh family. At the time, Pittsburgh was one of the fastest growing cities in the country. And the Italian-American population in Pittsburgh in the 1940 census ranked Pittsburgh's Italian-American population third behind Chicago and New York.
Capizzi's successor was Frank Amato. Amato was the boss until 1956, and during his reign, he tried desperately to infiltrate the unions of the steel workers. Amato's efforts were met with little success. Amato's retirement in 1956 brought John Sebastian LaRocca into the spotlight. LaRocca worked closely establishing gambling rackets with Kansas City boss Nick Civella. LaRocca headed the family until 1984, when he died from a long bout with cancer. LaRocca was succeeded by Michael James Genovese. Genovese is the cousin of Vito Genovese, the famed New York crime boss of the forties and fifties. Genovese brought a little more prestige to the Pittsburgh family during his first few years.
Genovese was the head of an old organization in Pittsburgh. He was in his seventies when he took over, and his underboss, Joe Pecora, died in 1987 at the age of 68. The LCN Commission was only approving replacement members for the Pittsburgh family, so those members who died were replaced, but no new members were made.
[edit] Prohibition
One Pittsburgh crime family was part of the Sicilian mob that began to influence the local government in the 1920s. Sicilians began to emigrate from Sicily to escape Benito Mussolini in 1922. They operated in Arnold, Wilkinsburg, Bloomfield, Larimer, McKees Rocks, Wilmerding, Braddock and New Kensington.
The industry they began to rule was bootlegging (the illegal making, selling, or transporting of alcohol). “Between 1926 and 1933, there were more than 200 gangland killings in Allegheny County, according to old news accounts. About one half of them went unsolved. Many bootleggers simply disappeared.” All major mob bosses began with their control of yeast, and sugar. The first major boss was Sicilian John Bazzano Sr., who was a manager of a theater and eventually gained control of sugar and yeast. Because of his greed he decided he wanted to expand his controlled territory by plotting to murder a group of other mob bosses, the Volpe Eight.
The Volpe Eight was a band of brothers that controlled Turtle Creek Valley and Wilmerding, the two territories Bazzano needed to expand his empire. A contract from Bazzano was offered to his caporegime Cesario Norece, an immigrant from Castellammare del Golfo born into the honored society, and a close family relative of a Bazzano Consiglierie. Fleeing Sicily from another murder charge, Norece accepted the contract to solidify his place with Bazzano. He and Bazzano mediated a partnership on the numbers and sugar racket and the Volpe brothers readily consented. A coffee shop Bazzano owned on Wylie Avenue was made into their headquarters and soon Bazzano made them comfortable with the relationship. After gaining the brothers’ trust' Bazzano decided the time had come to murder all eight brothers and had Norece associates Frank Lurito, Michele Vecchia, and Salvatore Artusa orchestrate the hit on July 29, 1932. The drive-by shooting took place by the coffee shop and murdered three of the eight. During the period of grieving held for the three brothers 50,000 people visited their home. Proving that because of the fear of these brothers, people from the area felt the need to make an appearance. The remaining brothers planned their revenge on Bazzano and Norece. As it transpired Norece was charged in connection of the murder and 4 counts of perjury by Federal indictment, although not convicted due to lack of evidence the murder committed from Italy called for the extradition of Norece. He was jailed and died in 1953 of syphilis. Bazzano was murdered while having dinner in Bloomfield “on August 8, 1932, his body turned up in the middle of a street in Brooklyn, NY, wrapped in a burlap sack.” ([www.post-gazette.com..)]
[edit] From LaRocca to Genovese
However, before its execution this murder plan had to be shown to La Cosa Nostra Commission, a group “formed to oversee mafia disputes.” Over time, other mob bosses succeeded Bazzano. The other godfather that left a major mark was John LaRocca, an immigrant that United States courts had tried and failed to deport came into control. In 1958 he was caught attempting to sell $50,000 of ammunition to soldiers of Fidel Castro. This event proved his influence spread along the east coast and on to foreign countries. After almost being caught with this action he kept a low profile and was even donned “a man of respect” by the Pennsylvania Crime Commission. He died in 1984 and was succeeded by life-long friend, Michael Genovese to rule the Pittsburgh Family.
Since the bootlegging and ammunition trading industries were finished, Genovese turned to gambling and drugs. By this time, around the 1980s, the mob was slowly losing its influence on the government so the FBI quickly saw path the mafia was about to take and, unhindered by the non-existent influence of the mafia, the FBI pursued them. The FBI quickly traced Genovese’s cocaine trail to his three top men, Charles "Chucky" Porter, and Louis Raucci Sr. Another change the mob had was finding new people for the Family. The two chosen were Joseph Naples and Lenne “Lenny” Strollo who were inducted in 1987. However the major fall the mafia took over the years and decline of political and governmental power led to the murder of Naples by Strollo in 1991 and the arrest of Strollo in 2000 for “running a gambling ring in Fayette County.” There is no member by the name of Martrano.
[edit] Bosses of the Pittsburgh Crime Family
- 1925–1929 — Stefano Monastero ( –1929)
- 1929–1931 — Giuseppe Siragusa (1886–1931)
- 1931–1932 — John Bazzano (1890–1932)
- 1932–1937 — Vincenzo Capizzi (1884–?)
- 1937–1956 — Frank Amato (c. 1893–1973)
- 1956–1978 — John Sebastian LaRocca (1901–1984)
- 1978–2006 — Michael Genovese1 (1918–2006)
- 2006–present — John Bazzano Jr.
[edit] Notes
- 1 Following LaRocca's retirement due to poor health, a triumverate was formed from Michael Genovese, Gabriel Mannarino and Joseph "Jo Jo" Picura to takeover the day-to-day running of the organization. However, with the death of Mannarino and imprisonment of Picura, Genovese had become acting head of the crime family by 1984.
[edit] Further reading
- Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
[edit] References
- Ove, Torsten. “Mafia Has Long History Here From Bootlegging Days,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 05 Nov 2000
- Ove, Torsten. “Local FBI Agent Plays Key Role In Dismantling Region’s Organized Crime Family,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 05 Nov 2000
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3
