Angelo Bruno

Angelo "The Gentle Don" Bruno b. Angelo Annaloro (born May 21, 1910 in Villalba , Sicily , † March 21, 1980 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) was an Italian-American mobster of the American Cosa Nostra and for two decades the boss of the Bruno family named after him ( Philadelphia Crime Family ), also known as the Philly Mob or the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia . He got his nickname because he preferred arbitration to outbreak of violence.

Life

Early years

Angelo Bruno was born under the name Angelo Annaloro in Villalba in the Sicilian province of Caltanissetta as the son of a grocer and emigrated to the United States as a teenager . There he settled in Philadelphia . Bruno had his surname "Annaloro" deleted and replaced it with the surname of his paternal grandmother. He was married to Sue Maranca and had two children. Bruno owned an exterminator company in Trenton, New Jersey , an aluminum products company in Hialeah, Florida, and had an interest in the Plaza Hotel in Havana, Cuba. He later handed over the exterminator company to his son Michael (1932–2000) because he did not want him to follow in his footsteps. In 1928 he was arrested for the first time for endangering road traffic. Later came arrests for violations of the Firearms Act, Schwarzbrennerei , illegal gambling and receiving stolen property .

His rise to head of the family is linked to his contacts with the Gambino family in New York. He is said to have sent part of his income to the family.

Head of the family

In 1959, Bruno became the new boss of the Philadelphia Crime Family after Giuseppe "Joseph" Ida was expelled back to Italy. Over the next 20 years, unlike other families, he managed to avoid media scrutiny, law enforcement scrutiny, and major outbreaks of violence. Despite multiple arrests, his longest incarceration was two years, to which he was sentenced for refusing to testify before a grand jury . Bruno prohibited his men from participating in drug deals and dedicated himself to traditional Cosa Nostra operations, such as: B. bookmaking and loan usury. However, he did allow other gangs in Philadelphia to trade in heroin for a fee. The deal angered other family members who, in turn, wanted a share of the profits from the drug deals.

Through the lucrative gambling business, the family associated with important figures in show business such as Frank Sinatra and Vic Damone .

Angelo Bruno used bribery rather than murder. For example, he transferred the former soldier (soldier) Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo to the more remote Atlantic City , because it was too brutal.

Bruno later had to deal with the problem of New York families wanting to join the growing, profitable gambling business of Atlantic City. The Five Families believed that Atlantic City was too profitable to be ruled solely by the Philadelphia family, even though the city had long been considered their territory. Although Bruno could have refused their consent under Mafia rules, he allowed the New York families to do business in Atlantic City for a profit-sharing scheme, as each one was stronger than his and any attempt to challenge them could end in his death. The members subordinate to him did not agree with this decision.

Uprising and death

Several subsets of the family began to rebel against the aging Bruno. On March 21, 1980, 69-year-old Bruno was killed by a shotgun in the back of the head while he was sitting in his car outside his home at the intersection of 10th Street and Snyder Avenue in South Philadelphia. It is believed that the assassination attempt was ordered by Consigliere Brunos, Antonio Caponigro (aka "Tony Bananas"). Just weeks later, Caponigro's body was found in a body bag in the trunk of a car in New York. His mouth and anus had bills worth about $ 300 (this is a symbol of greed). The commission reportedly ordered Caponigro's death for murdering Bruno without their permission. In order to be able to eliminate Caponigro on the one hand and to weaken the Bruno family on the other, Frank “Funzi” Tieri, the boss of the Genovese family at the time, made Caponigro believe that he had permission from the commission to kill Bruno. Other members of the Bruno family who were involved in Bruno's murder were also tortured and murdered.

Films and documentaries

• 2015: Angelo Bruno is played by Chazz Palminteri in Legend .
• 2016: In Legend of the Krays - Part 2 - The Fall , Michael Instone took on the role of Bruno.
• 2019: Harvey Keitel embodies Bruno in The Irishman .

literature

• Celeste Anne Morello: Book One; Before Bruno: The History of the Mafia and La Cosa Nostra in Philadelphia ; 2000; ISBN 978-0-9677334-1-8
• Celeste Anne Morello: Book Two; Before Bruno: The History of the Philadelphia Mafia, 1931-1946 ; 2001; ISBN 978-0-9677334-2-5
• Celeste Anne Morello: Book Three; Before Bruno and How He Became Boss: The History of the Philadelphia Mafia ; 2005; ISBN 978-0-9770532-0-9
• George Anastasia: Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob - The Mafia's Most Violent Family ; 2003; ISBN 0-940159-86-4
• Bureau of Narcotics, US Treasury Department: Mafia: the Government's Secret File on Organized Crime ; 2007; ISBN 0-06-136385-5

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Merlino Merlino
2. ^ Mob chef Angelo Lutz hopes for a hit with New Jersey restaurant The Kitchen Consigliere , NY Daily News. October 31, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2015. 
3. ↑ Tracing Ties Between Mob And Mayor Investigators Say A Friend Of Boss-turned-informant Ralph Natale's Funneled Cash And Gifts To Milton Milan. . March 31, 2000. Retrieved March 25, 2015. 
4. ^ Informant Is Mob Target, Officials Say . November 4, 1990. Retrieved March 25, 2015. 
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Steve Volk. The Godfathers Daughter . From: phillymag.com December 18, 2007, accessed February 16, 2016
6. ↑ ^{a b} Kitty Caparella. Michael A. Bruno, 67, Son of Slain Crime Boss . From: articles.philly.com on July 5, 2000, accessed February 16, 2016
7. ↑ ^{a b c d e} George Anastasia. Behind Bruno's Slaying: Tale of a Triple-Cross . From: articles.philly.com on March 12, 1989, accessed February 16, 2016