Thursday, August 4, 2022
Philadelphia Surveillance (1979)
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
DeCavalcante Family Ceremonies (1970s)
Dates are approximate and usually indicate when news of the induction was first reported to LE, not necessarily when the ceremony itself took place. It's possible some names listed separately were made together and news of their membership got out at different times.
===
c. Late January / Early February 1976
- Books open. Each New York Family initially allowed ten new members. This likely applied to the DeCavalcante Family as well.
DeCavalcante's first wave included:
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| Occhipinti |
c. Spring 1976
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| Ippolito |
===
June 8, 1976
===
June 30, 1976
Pre-Fall 1976
Palermo, described as John Riggi's 'favorite', is another likely first wave inductee.
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October 10, 1976
c. Fall 1976
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| Colletti (L) and LaSala (R) |
- Unsub #1 [Sponsored by J. Riggi]
- Unsub #2 [Sponsored by L. LaRasso]
- Unsub #3 (New York)
- Unsub #4 (New York)
November 3, 1976
- "[CI] stated Jo Jo Ferrara was proposed [for DeCavalcante membership], but was turned down."
===
December 6, 1976
===
December 8, 1976
December 19, 1976
===
Pre-1977
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| Farone (L) and Rotondo (R) |
- Vincent 'Jimmy' Rotondo (46y) [Murdered 1988] [Sponsored by F. Cocchiaro]
c. Spring 1977
Location: Basement of Unspecified Residence (Elizabeth, New Jersey)
Attendees:
- Simone DeCavalcante (65y) (Boss) [Died 1997]
- John Riggi (52y) (Underboss) [Died 2015]
- Stefano Vitabile (41y) (Consigliere) (Acting?)
- Louis LaRasso (50y) (Captain) [Murdered 1991]
- Larry Schiro (56y) (Captain) [Died]
- Others
- Joseph Giacobbe (53y) [Soldier]
- Robert 'Bobby Basile' Occhipinti (Soldier) (57y) [Died 1999]
- Girolamo 'Jimmy' Palermo (38y) (Soldier) [Died 2014]
Members Inducted:
- Vincent 'Vinny Ocean' Palermo (31y) [Flipped 2000] [Sponsored by R. Occhipinti]
- Two or three additional inductees
Palermo: "[Occhipinti and I] met Steve the Truck Driver [Vitabile] at a diner on Bay Street and then we followed him and he took us to this home. We parked like a block or two away. We walked to this house, then walked down the side to the basement. [This was done because when] you have [an] administration meeting or you have a meeting that you're going to straighten somebody out as a wise guy, no one's supposed to know the location but the Consigliere. He sets up the location and meets people elsewhere and brings them there, so no one knows where that spot is until the last minute.
...[There] was several guys that got made that night. It was about three or four of us. Sam DeCavalcante was there as the Boss and Johnny Riggi was there. And Steve and all the Captains. They all got up and they told me to stay sitting down and they hold hands which they call it a chain. What it means is whatever's discussed in that administration meeting can't be discussed outside of that basement or room. Then Sam spoke to us and said that, do you like these people here. Would you like to be part of a group that we have. If you ever need help we're here for you. If you have problems, it's our problems. If you're asked to do anything that we ask you to do, you need to take care of it and do it. And he just more or less went over some very minor rules at that time. And then we all said that, yes, we do want to be part of the people that are there. And then they spoke to us and they made us wise guys.
...[DeCavalcante] says there's no drugs, [you] can't go out with anybody's wife that's a friend. And there's no setting bombs off anywhere because you could hurt innocent people. Then there is a gun and knife there. He says these are the tools you live by. You go in with a gun and you go out with a gun. He says these are tools like a carpenter has a hammer and a screwdriver. This is our tools, gun and knife...[DeCavalcante] says now you're in the Family. And you go around, shake everybody's hand and kiss them around the table. And then they introduce you."
Palermo was assigned to Captain Vincent Rotondo: "My father-in-law [Robert Occhipinti] proposed me at the time and they put me with Jimmy Rotondo. You couldn't be with a relative."
Due to the DeCavalcante Family's failure to carry out the full ceremony, Palermo and many others made after the books re-opened had to undergo a second induction in the late 1980s.
===
Pre-Summer 1977
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| Alessi |
June 14, 1977
===
c. August 1977
- Unsub
===
August 30, 1977
===
- Simone Palermo (44y) [Died 2005] [Sponsored by J. Riggi]
- Emanuel 'Manny' Riggi (30y) [Died 2016]
- Unsub [Sponsored by V. Rotondo]
===
October 23, 1977
===
c. December 1977
- Unsub [Sponsored by J. Riggi]
===
December 29, 1977
c. March 1978
- Joseph 'Joe Moran' Russo
- Three Unsubs
This information was provided to the FBI by the NYPD's Intelligence Division. The report containing these names also lists a handful of recent New York Family inductees with some inaccuracies. This report is the only source for the above names.
===
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| Aquilante |
Pre-Fall 1978
- Unsub [Sponsored by J. Colletti]
===
c. August 1979
- Unsub [Sponsored by J. Riggi]
===
c. Mid-to-Late 1970s (Confirmed Inducted Pre-1980)
- Joseph 'Joe C.' Caruano (48y) [Died 2000]
- John D'Amato (35y) [Murdered 1991] [Sponsored by A. Carubia]
- Michael 'Mickey' DePietro (45y) [Died 1998]
- Charles Majuri (38y) [Died 2026]
- Joseph Miranda (55y) [Died 2014] [May have been inducted pre-1958]
- Francesco Polizzi (42y) [Died 2001] [Possibly identical with Unspecified 'Italian from Italy' promoted to Captain c. August 1978]
- Paul 'Paulie Doyle' SanFilippo (56y) [Died 1979] [Possibly inducted pre-1958]
- Giuseppe 'Pino' Schifilliti (40y)
- Several others
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
John Varelli (Chicago)
Monday, June 13, 2022
Peter Fria (Gambino)
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| 1952 |
Peter Fria was a member of the Gambino Family's D'Aquila - Garofalo crew.
Born January 2, 1894 in Palermo, Sicily to Andrea and Agostina Aloisa.
In February 1913 sentenced by Palermo's Judicial Tribune to four months imprisonment for embezzlement.
Served in the Italian Army from 1915 to 1919.
On July 28, 1919 married Madelena Bucca in Palermo.
On October 16, 1921 arrived at Ellis Island, New York aboard S.S. Giovanni Florio. Destined to an uncle of the same name in Manhattan. Fria immigrated alone. One month later his wife gave birth to a daughter in the town of Ribera located in Agrigento, Sicily.
By 1930 resided at 143 East 18th St in Gramercy Park, Manhattan. Operated a luncheonette on East 12th St in nearby East Village.
By the early 1940s he was living about a block away from the luncheonette at 227 East 12th St.
Within a couple of years Fria exited the business and took up employment as a butcher for the Imperial Pork Store at 182 Ave A.
On May 22, 1951 Fria left New York to visit his daughter in Ribera. He returned that September.
By Summer 1952 he listed employment as porter at 196 1st Ave in East Village but had moved to Brooklyn, residing at 282 16th St in Park Slope. He filed his Petition for Naturalization in that borough in August and was granted citizenship three months later.
By the early-to-mid 1950s Peter Fria was a member of the Gambino Family crew headed by Jerome D'Aquila, son to Former Boss Salvatore D'Aquila.
Members of Jerome D'Aquila's crew included Vincenzo 'Jimmy' DiLeonardo, Peter Fria, Olympio 'Lilo' Garofalo, Giosue Meli and Paul Zaccaria.
Fria's criminal activities were said to include shylocking and involvement in the Italian lottery.
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| 1955 |
In August 1955 made another trip to Sicily.
In the early 1960s Fria had moved back to East Village, sharing a room at 356 East 13th St. He frequented the Columbia Civic Association at 402 East 12th St, where he earned 'a few dollars' performing upkeep.
He was then reporting to Olympio 'Lilo' Garofalo.
Fria first came to the attention of the FBI in early January 1963. CI Alfred Santantonio, a Gambino Soldier, identified Lilo as a Captain with approximately 'ten old men' underneath him, including an individual frequently seen with Lilo on 1st Ave who he knew as Pedro Meda (ph). Santantonio was murdered before he could provide further details.
In March 1967 an FBI source reported that he had been told recently of one 'Don Patrino Maida', a Gambino Member described as 'an extremely wealthy individual' and long-time shylock and lottery operator. The informant gave an address for 'Don Maida' at 356 East 13th St.
Following up on the address early the following year, Agents interviewed the owner of the building. The owner knew of no one by the name of Maida, offering that the only tenant who fit the description was Peter Fria.
Fria was tracked down for interview the next month and provided lengthy background information on himself. Shown a photograph of Family Boss Carlo Gambino, Fria stated Gambino appeared familiar and he may have met him at Valentino's Cafe or 'some other place'. He was also shown photographs of Carlo's brothers, Captains Paul and Giuseppi, as well as Acting Underboss Aniello Dellacroce and Captain Vincent 'Jimmy the Blond' Corrao, and claimed no knowledge of them.
When asked about organized crime Fria replied: "[He] advised he has read about La Cosa Nostra and the Mafia in the New York newspapers, but he has no further knowledge concerning it. He volunteered the opinion that La Cosa Nostra or Mafia was non-existent and was manufactured to 'sell newspapers'. He advised he had never been aware of the Mafia's existence in Italy while he was living there."
In April 1968 the informant confirmed that Peter Fria was identical with 'Don Patrino Maida'.
The FBI interviewed Fria once more, in early 1969, and he was the subject of occasional spot checks conducted by Agents when they were in the neighborhood. They noted he continued to frequent and perform 'custodial duties' at the Columbia Civic Association.
Fria remained otherwise under the radar. He wasn't mentioned by any of the FBI's sources again until July 1971, when an informant alerted Agents to the fact that Fria had left the country over a year prior.
It was determined he had moved in with his daughter at Via Campione 19 in Ribera. A brief surveillance was conducted on Fria by the FBI's legal attaché in Rome in an attempt to determine his activities.
He died June 20, 1972 at Palermo's Civic Hospital.
Thursday, June 9, 2022
Jake Columbo (Genovese)
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| 1960s |
Jake Columbo was a member of the Genovese Family.
Born Giachinio Colombo on January 4, 1921 in Brooklyn, New York. Parents Giuseppe and Giuseppina Buttacavali were both from Palermo, Sicily.
The Columbos resided at 52 Watkins St in Brownsville, Brooklyn.
In April 1937 Jake was arrested on a burglary charge and given probation.
The following month he was arrested again, this time for burglary, possessing burglar tools and petit larceny. Convicted on a final charge of unlawful entry, he was sent by Kings County Judge Brancato to the New York State Vocational School.
A larceny conviction in August 1940 resulted in six months at the workhouse.
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| 1940s |
By November 1943 resided at 610 Pine St in East New York, Brooklyn.
Late that month twenty-eight-year-old Morris Borge was stabbed after getting into an automobile accident with Columbo at Borden Ave and 46th St in Laurel Hill, Queens. Charged with felonious assault, Columbo was acquitted early the following year.
He was then living with brother Frank at 914 New Lots Ave in East New York and employed as a pocketbook maker. He was arrested twice that year, for vagrancy and then armed robbery, both cases ending in dismissal.
A bookmaking charge the following summer resulted in a $50 fine.
On April 25, 1950 he was picked up on another bookmaking charge at 282 Knickerbocker Ave in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The case was ultimately dismissed for lack of evidence.
A felonious assault charge in September 1951 was also dismissed.
On August 26, 1952 picked up at an East New York dice game and given a suspended sentence.
Multiple vagrancy and gambling arrests would occur through the rest of the decade, all either resulting in dismissal or with no disposition shown.
By the mid-1950s Columbo was a made member, although he may not have initially been with the Genovese Family.
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| 1950s: Carillo (L) and Columbo (R) Source (Carillo): FBN Mafia Book |
By 1955 Columbo was closely associated with Genovese Member Anthony 'Tony the Sheik' Carillo. An FBI report compiled that year identified Carillo as 'syndicate leader with Jake Columbo' in Brownsville - East New York. The following year an informant noted: "The syndicate boss of East New York is 'Tony the Sheik' who frequents the corner of Liberty and Cleveland Avenues in Brooklyn. He further advised Jackie Columbo is another button man from the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, who frequents the East New York area and has a say in underworld activities in that area...Columbo is next in command to 'Tony the Sheik'."
Columbo oversaw floating crap games in the area, with patrons typically steered to the location from the Garfield Cafeteria in Flatbush.
On March 30, 1958 thirty-four-year-old Louis Nadel was shot to death while parking his automobile on Ave X between East 26th and East 27th Sts in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. The killer, who may have been sitting in the passenger seat, shot Nadel twice in the head at close range with a .38 caliber automatic handgun.
Those brought in for questioning included Columbo, who until recently had been one of three partners in the JS&L Coat Corporation at 86 Meserole St in Williamsburg.
Late that year he formed the Jako Vending Corporation at 606 Gates Ave in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Genovese Associate Benjamin 'Benny' Wekar and Possible Lucchese Member Victor Aita each purchased an interest and served respectively as Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of the corporation. Wekar was by then a long-time gambling associate of Columbo.
The trio was later said to have collaborated with the Colombo Family's Gallo brothers in the jukebox business.
By 1963 Columbo was part of a large-scale policy ring operating in Brooklyn and New Jersey. Others involved included Bonanno Member Gaetano 'Smitty' D'Angelo, Colombo Member Sebastiano Aloi, Genovese Members Gennaro 'Jerry the Wolf' Boccia and Anthony 'Tony Andrews' Florio as well as Genovese Associate James 'Jimmy Nap' Napoli.
On April 6, 1963 Columbo was indicted for bribery in Suffolk County, Long Island. Genovese Member Gabriel Vigorito, Lucchese Member Salvatore 'Babe' Vario and three others were also charged. (D'Arco's 1992 debriefing named Vario as another Lucchese member brought in by Schiavo.)
Vigorito appears to have been dropped from the case. Columbo, Vario and the others were convicted in March 1964 following what was then the longest trial in Suffolk County history.
Three months later the bribery case defendants appeared for sentencing before Judge George F. X. McInerney. Columbo and Vario were given New York State prison sentences of four-to-eight years and eight-to-fifteen years respectively. Both were released on bail pending appeal.
On February 21, 1965 Columbo died at his residence located on Bedell Lane in Canarsie, Brooklyn.
In early July 1965 the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court granted Columbo a posthumous reversal of his bribery conviction and ordered a new trial for Salvatore Vario and two of the other surviving co-defendants.
Sunday, June 5, 2022
Colombo Surveillance (1965)
Saturday, June 4, 2022
Anthony Raimondi (Bonanno)
No photo available.
Anthony 'Tony R.' Raimondi was a member of the Bonanno Family.
Born April 1, 1892 in Palermo, Sicily.
In Summer 1900 entered United States through Ellis Island, New York.
Around 1910 served a six month sentence for carrying a concealed weapon.
In April 1914 filed Declaration of Intention in USDC Manhattan. At the time Raimondi was living at 437 East 12th St in East Village, Manhattan and working as a box maker.
By 1917 he was residing with wife Josephine DiMarco at 2016 West 5th St in Gravesend, Brooklyn. Employed as chauffeur.
He was still employed as a chauffeur by 1925, when the family is listed at 126 Bay 25th St in the adjacent neighborhood of Bath Beach.
Raimondi was likely an inducted member of the Bonanno Family by the 1930s.
By 1942 returned to the East Village neighborhood, residing at 276 Ave A and running a business nearby on East 16th St.
He subsequently moved a few blocks down to 19 East 7th St and worked as an aide at Bellevue Hospital in Kips Bay.
He was back in Brooklyn, this time at 2037 West 5th St in Gravesend, by the time of his May 1962 retirement from Bellevue.
Raimondi was described as a long-time associate of Bonanno Captain Angelo Caruso and was likely a member of Caruso's crew.
On March 31, 1964 Raimondi married Nellie Lytwyn in Brooklyn.
Anthony's stepson Dennis 'Danny Raimondi' Lytwyn was an on-record associate with Raymond Patriarca, LCN Boss in New England. It was this connection that led to Anthony being identified by the FBI.
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| Danny Raimondi |
On October 26, 1964 an FBI bug recorded a meeting between Raimondi and Patriarca at the latter's place of business in Providence, Rhode Island. The primary purpose of the visit, a request that Patriarca order Danny Raimondi to keep up regular contact with his ailing mother, was overshadowed by a discussion concerning the status of Family Boss Joseph Bonanno and his supporters: "...Raymond spoke to the New York group in behalf of Raimondi and told them, because his son [Danny] is 'with him', meaning Patriarca, they should not cause him, [Anthony] Raimondi any harm...Raimondi is a member of the Bonanno Family."
During the same visit Raimondi related the following anecdote to Patriarca: "...Raimondi then mentioned that he at one time was very wealthy and, because of his habit of helping friends financially, he has lost most of his money. He pointed out that at one time an individual, name not mentioned, was given an order to kill somebody. While completing the murder, he was observed by a witness. Later, on another job, probably murder, he was picked up and identified by the witness in the first murder. A payoff of $5,000 was necessary to 'square the rap away'. $5,000 was furnished to a Lt. Dunn (ph) for this purpose and the charge was dropped. The individual was released and the following day he was also murdered. This resulted in the loss of $5,000 to Raimondi."
The FBI interviewed Raimondi early the next year. He provided background on himself and admitted knowing Angelo Caruso for 'years'.
Raimondi remains one of the more obscure members despite his identification.
In February 1966 one of the FBI's Bonanno sources was shown Raimondi's photograph and claimed no knowledge of him.
In late August 1973 he was among those surveilled attending the wake for Bonanno Boss Natale Evola held at the Bensonhurst & Prospect Funeral Home in Brooklyn.
Raimondi's stepson Danny briefly cooperated with the FBI in an investigation of Raymond Patriarca, then reneged on the deal and later published a book on the experience.
On April 1, 1977 Danny was shot to death inside his residence in Somerset, Massachusetts. Press coverage in the wake of his murder provided details of Danny's cooperation that were left out of the book, including his professed involvement in thirty-six murders. The press also reported that Danny had claimed formal membership in the Patriarca Family, providing agents with a detailed description of the ceremony where he and an unnamed second man were inducted.
By the late 1970s Anthony Raimondi may have been reporting to Angelo Salvo, identified by informants as Captain over most of Angelo Caruso's former crew members.
He died in early May 1979 and was waked from Sparacio's Dahill Funeral Home at 2525 65th St in Mapleton, Brooklyn.
Update
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Bonanno - Nicholas Accardi - Antonio Adamo - Sandro Aiosa - Barney Anello - John Aquaro - John Arcaro - Andrew Asaro - Gasper Cammarata - Vi...
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1970 Carmine 'Turi' Franzese was a Soldier in the Colombo Family. A loanshark and close associate of Bonanno leader Joseph Massino, ...
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C. Lombardo (1985) New Posts: 1. Charles Lombardo (Colombo): Obscure member and the younger brother of Captain-Acting Consigliere Ralph Lom...




















