Apalachin meeting
The Apalachin meeting was a gathering of almost all the bosses of the American Cosa Nostra on November 14, 1957 in the Apalachin congregation in New York . The meeting ended prematurely when the majority of the mafiosi tried to flee when the police appeared. Nevertheless, the police managed to determine the personal details of 62 Mafiosi.
The Apalachin meeting marks a turning point in US domestic politics. For the first time there was evidence that a national criminal syndicate existed, which had previously been denied , especially by the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover . It was not until November 27, 1957, that Hoover announced the "Top Hoodlum Program," with which the FBI began the fight against the American Cosa Nostra.
prehistory
In 1931 Lucky Luciano was able to realize the idea of a national criminal syndicate ( National Crime Syndicate ). The entire United States was divided into spheres of influence and areas for the Italian-American families. The commission , the governing body of the syndicate, regulated the cooperation of the families and settled disputes. The time of gang wars and excesses of violence was over: instead of feuding, the families now worked together. Since all those involved observed the omertà's requirement of silence , they were able to act largely without disruptive attacks by the law enforcement authorities or the media.
Successful judicial actions against individual members of the American Cosa Nostra continued, such as the arrest and subsequent deportation of Luciano or the execution of Buchalter . The existence of a nationwide criminal syndicate could, however, be concealed.
In particular, the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover viewed the Italian-American gangs as a local event that the FBI was not responsible for.
Agenda
It is generally accepted that the following two topics were the focus of the meeting.
On July 1, 1957, the " Narcotic Control Act " came into force. This made drug trafficking a federal offense. In addition, the minimum penalties have been increased dramatically. Because of the increased risks, several bosses called for a ban on drug trafficking for all members of the American Cosa Nostra. On the other hand, Vito Genovese and Joseph Bonanno in particular were already involved in the lucrative drug trade and were not interested in foregoing the enormous profits.
In New York, Vito Genovese had become the most powerful boss through two assassinations. The first assassination attempt was against his own boss, Frank Costello . Costello survived, but after further threats he withdrew from Genovese and handed over the management of the "family" to him, which has since been classified as the Genovese family . The second assassination attempt took place on October 25, 1957 and was aimed at Albert Anastasia , the boss of the Mangano family at the time, who was shot. This family was then taken over by Genovese's ally Carlo Gambino .
Genovese ordered both assassinations without the commission's prior consent, which was actually required . He now wanted to obtain this approval retrospectively at the meeting in Apalachin. In addition, Genovese planned to be proclaimed " Capo di tutti i capi " (Italian: Boss of all bosses ) at the Apalachin meeting , a title that Salvatore Maranzano did not hold for long after the War of Castellammare in 1931 could claim because he was murdered on September 10, 1931.
The meeting
The meeting was at the home of Joseph "Joe the Barber" Barbara instead, head of the Pittston family (Pittston crime family) . Over 100 Mafiosi gathered, only Meyer Lansky , Carlos Marcello and Lucky Luciano were missing , who were not allowed to enter.
The meeting ended early around noon when the assembled gangsters noticed two policemen taking down the license plates of the cars parked in front of the house. The two officers were Sergeant Edgar Croswell and Trooper Vincent Vasisko of the New York State Police . When the gangsters saw the police officers, almost everyone panicked and tried to flee. For most of them, their escape ended at a roadblock set up by Croswell. Another group tried to escape on foot through the woods, but police from the surrounding communities managed to arrest many of them. Since there was no evidence of a crime, the state trooper and police could only record the personal details and had to let everyone involved go. The mafiosi who stayed in Barbara's house were unmolested.
All of those arrested said the reason for their stay in Apalachin was that they had paid a sick visit to Joe Barbara, who had recently had a minor heart attack, and that it was pure coincidence that 100 of Barbara's friends had exactly the same idea. A total of 62 people were arrested and identified, 50 had a criminal record.
The consequences
The gathering and the grotesque mass exodus attracted a great deal of attention across the United States. It was known, not least because of the Kefauver Hearings , that there were Italian-American gangs even before Apalachin, but these were viewed as isolated local units. In particular, the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover denied the existence of a nationwide organization for years. However, after massive public pressure and the arrests of Apalachin, this changed: the American Cosa Nostra was now perceived as a nationwide organization and a threat. On November 27, 1957, Hoover announced the "Top Hoodlum Program".
It is not known whether and what was actually decided at the meeting. Genovese's position as the boss of the family later named after him was never questioned again after Apalachin. But since Genovese was the initiator of the meeting, he was blamed by numerous Mafiosi for the embarrassment and exposure of the syndicate. His attempt to become “boss of the bosses” had thus finally failed.
Arrested mafiosi
Myths and Guesses
It is occasionally alleged that J. Edgar Hoover attended the Apalachin meeting. However, there is no known evidence or evidence of this.
There are different versions of how Sergeant Croswell discovered the meeting:
- A year before the Apalachin meeting, a meeting of the commission is said to have taken place in Joe Barbara's house, which Carmine Galante also attended. Galante was arrested following Croswell for speeding. After seeing Galante's criminal record, Croswell reportedly decided to keep an eye on Joe Barbara in the future.
- In the small community of Apalachin (1200 inhabitants), Barbara noticed that he booked hotel rooms for over 100 people.
- Meyer Lansky, who did not attend due to illness, reportedly informed Croswell that a conference of criminals was taking place in Apalachin. Lansky was close friends with Luciano and Costello, both of whom were ousted by Genovese, so that a tip to the police would have been understandable as an act of revenge.
Adaptations
- In the 1959 film The Black Hand of the Mafia , the murder of Albert Anastasia and a subsequent Mafia summit was modeled on the Apalachin meeting.
- When thirteen full members of the American Cosa Nostra were arrested in the La Strella restaurant in New York City in 1966, the New York Times newspaper dubbed the incident "Little Apalachin".
- The Apalachin Meeting takes place in the movie The Valachi Papers mention
- The Apalachin meeting is mentioned in the film Good Fellas - Three Decades in the Mafia
- The meeting serves as the opening in the film Reine Nervensache .
- The Apalachin Meeting takes place in the film Mala Vita - The Family mention
Individual evidence
- ↑ Crime Inquiry Still Checking on Apalachin Meeting. In: Toledo Blade. Associated Press, July 2, 1958, p. Two , accessed May 27, 2012 .
- ↑ Apalachin Meeting Ruled Against Gang Killing Of Tough, Probe Told. In: Schenectady Gazette. Associated Press, February 13, 1959, pp. 1, 3 , accessed May 27, 2012 .
- ↑ Sid Feder: Old Mafia Myth Turns Up Again In Move Against Apalachin Mob. In: The Victoria Advocate. June 11, 1959, accessed June 2, 2012 .
- ↑ Just Nicked Gambler Frank Costello Shot Entering Apartment. In: Ottawa Citizen. May 3, 1957, Retrieved May 28, 2012 .
- ↑ Mafia boss Genovese dies in prison hospital. In: The Montreal Gazette. February 15, 1969, Retrieved May 28, 2012 .
- ↑ Jerry Capcei: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Pp. 31-46. The Mafia's Commission.
- ^ 'Crime Meeting' Conspiracy Convictions Upset By Court. In: Lodi News-Sentinel. UPI, November 29, 1960, p. 2 , accessed May 28, 2012 .
- ↑ Allen May: The Power Lunch - Mob Style. ( Memento of the original from February 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at: www.crimemagazine.com
Web links
- Two hits and a miss. ( Memento from March 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Crime Library (English)
- Gangland News (English)
- FBI ( Memento of November 20, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) official site of the FBI (English)
- 1957 Mafia War in New York. on www.us-politik.ch (German)