St. Louis family
The St. Louis family ( St. Louis crime family ), or Giordano family , is an Italian-American mafia family of the La Cosa Nostra with headquarters in St. Louis , Missouri . Today the family, with around ten full members and around 25–30 associates, is one of the smallest family clans of La Cosa Nostra. Little is known about its current state - and whether it still exists independently at all.
history
The beginnings
Activities of bullies and their gangs in St. Louis, which can be assigned to the Mafia, can be traced back to the mid-1880s.
Dominick Giambrone, who led his people in 1910, can be considered the first boss of a gang - which is considered to be the core of the St. Louis family - but there were other Italian-American gangsters - especially during the alcohol prohibition in the United States - in the City active.
- The Green Ones ; a Sicilian gang around Vito Giannola.
- The Russo Gang : a Green Ones faction led by Tony Russo.
- The Pillow Gang ; an Italian gang around Pasquale Santino.
In addition to these small Italian gangs, there were especially Irish gangs: Egan's Rats , Hogan Gang , the Shelton-Brother-Gang and The Cuckoos , of which the Egan Rat's in particular ruled the city until 1924; Leader Thomas "Tom" Egan was an elected local politician .
These seven gangs fought for market shares and territories at the beginning of Prohibition ; During this time, the small Italian gangs did not appear as a unified group, nor was there any sign of cohesion as part of a "La Cosa Nostra".
Vito Giannola and then Frank Agrusa - successor Dominick Giambrone - began to establish themselves. When Vito Giannola was murdered in 1927, the remaining members of the Green Ones left town. In 1928 the remaining Russo brothers gave up.
Pasquale Santino was also killed in 1927; The Pillow Gang remained under their new leader Carmelo Fresina until 1931, when he was murdered in 1931. Under Chief Thomas Buffa, the remains of the pillow gang were apparently taken over. But he got into trouble himself, fled the city and was murdered in Lodi (California) in 1943 .
After underboss Vincenzo "Vincent" Chiapetta briefly became boss of the family in 1950, John Joseph Vitale took over his position and remained underboss for 30 years, until 1980.
Anthony Giordano and the Detroit Partnership
After the death of Anthony "Tony Lap" Lopiparo in 1960, Anthony "Tony G." Giordano became his official successor as boss.
In the 1970s Giordano tried together with Anthony Joseph Zerilli - the acting boss of the Zerilli family (Detroit crime family) - to take control of the New Frontier casino in Las Vegas . Giordano was convicted and imprisoned for this in 1975 and his nephew Vincenzo "Jimmy" Giammanco was appointed acting boss until Giordano was released in 1977. He remained head of the family for three more years until he died of cancer on August 29, 1980.
Vitale and Trupiano
Anthony Giordano's successor was his underboss John Joseph Vitale , until he died of natural causes on June 5, 1982.
Matthew Trupiano, Jr. became the new head of the family with Joseph Cammarata as his underboss. He was a businessman and president of the Local 110 union , which was controlled by the Giordano family. Since Trupiano was thus a leading figure in union work, the prosecutor was able to charge him with embezzlement of union funds and in June 1992 he was released from his position as president of Local 110 due to the criminal complaint .
In October 1992, Trupiano was found guilty of illegal gambling and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. However, due to his poor health, Trupiano was released early from prison after 16 months. On October 22, 1997 Trupiano died of a heart attack and Anthony M. "Nino" Parrino was Trupiano's successor until his death in 2014.
Historical tour
Head of the family
The head of a family cannot always be identified so clearly; especially if another family member comes to the fore due to a prison sentence. The external view does not always make it easy to recognize a new head as such or to determine his exact term of office. In addition, a presidential system seems to be establishing itself to a certain extent; ie the head shifts his power more to a so-called “acting boss” and / or “street boss”, who in turn continue to recognize the head as such, even if he is, for example, in custody.
| Period | Surname | Nickname | Lifetime | Cause of death | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912-1923 | Dominick Giambrone | 1876-1934 | Murdered in 1934 | fled | |
| 1923-1927 | Vito Giannola | ???? - 1927 | murdered on December 28, 1927 | ||
| 1927-1937 | Frank Agrusa | ?? - 1940s | murdered | ||
| 1937-1943 | Thomas Buffa | Tom | ???? - 1947 | on March 27th Murdered in 1947 | fled |
| 1943-1950 | Pasquale Miceli | ???? - 1950 | |||
| 1950-1950 | Vincenzo "Vincent" Chiapetta | 1886-1970 | |||
| 1950-1960 | Anthony Lopiparo | Tony Lap | ???? - 1960 | ||
| 1960-1980 | Anthony Giordano | Tony G. | 1915-1980 | cancer | Imprisoned 1975–1977 |
| 1980-1982 | John Joseph Vitale | Johnny V. | 1909-1982 | natural death | |
| 1982-1997 | Matthew M. Trupiano, Jr. | Mike | 1938-1997 | Heart attack | Nephew of Anthony Giordano |
| 1997-2014 | Anthony M. Parrino | Nino | 1930-2014 | natural death |
Acting boss
- 1975-1977: Vincenzo Giammanco ; Nickname: "Jimmy"; Nephew of Anthony Giordano
Underboss of the family
The underboss is number two in the criminal family, he is the deputy director of the syndicate. He gathers information for the boss, gives orders and instructions to the subordinates. In the absence of the boss, he leads the organization.
| Period | Surname | Nickname | Lifetime | Cause of death | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912-1923 | Vito Giannola | ???? - 1927 | murdered on December 28, 1927 | became boss in 1923 | |
| 1923-1927 | Alfonse Palazzolo | on Sep 9 Murdered in 1927 | |||
| 1927-1937 | Thomas Buffa | Tom | ???? - 1947 | on March 27th Murdered in 1947 | became boss in 1937 |
| 1937-1943 | Pasquale Miceli | ???? - 1950 | became boss in 1943 | ||
| 1943-1950 | Vincenzo "Vincent" Chiapetta | 1886-1970 | became boss in 1950 | ||
| 1950-1980 | John Joseph Vitale | Johnny V. | 1909-1982 | natural death | became boss in 1980 |
| 1980-2000s | Joseph Cammarata | Uncle Joe | 1924-2013 | ||
| 2000s-today | Vincent Giordano | Vince | ????-today | Nephew of Anthony Giordano |
Consigliere of the family
At the same level as the underboss is the consigliere, the advisor to the criminal family. It is usually an older member of the family who has not reached the position of boss in his criminal career and has now partially withdrawn from active criminal activity. He advises the boss and the underboss, giving him considerable influence and power.
| Period | Surname | Nickname | Lifetime | Cause of death | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-1960 | Ralph Caleca | Shorty | 1900-1988 | natural death | resigned |
| 1960-1982 | Joseph Pisciotta | ??? - 2012 | natural death | resigned | |
| 1982-1997 | Anthony M. Parrino | Nino | 1930-2014 | natural death | became boss in 1997 |
| 1997 – today | Giacomo Parrino | Jackie | ????-today |
Web links
- American Gangland: Giordano Crime Family on www.angelfire.com (English)
literature
- Peter J. DeVico: The Mafia Made Easy: The Anatomy and Culture of La Cosa Nostra. Tate Publishing & Enterprises, 2007. pp. 197-202, ISBN 1-60247-254-8
- Scott M. Dietche: The Everything Mafia Book: True Life Accounts of Legendary Figures, Infamous Crime Families, and Chilling Events , Everything Books, 2009. ISBN 978-1598697797
- Daniel Waugh: Gangs of St. Louis: Men of Respect . Charleston: The History Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1-59629-905-4
- John Auble: A History of St. Louis Gangsters: A Chronology of Mob Activity on Both Sides of the River Ranging from the Egan Rats to the Last Mob Leader on Record . The National Criminal Research Society. 2002. ISBN 0-9713409-0-0
- Bureau of Narcotics. The United States Treasury Department. Giancana, Sam. Mafia: The Government's Secret File on Organized Crime . Skyhorse Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1602396685
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Devico, pp. 197-202
- ↑ Dietche, pp. 150
- ^ A b c d e Allan May: The St. Louis Family . Trutv.com. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ Mario Machi: St. Louis Family . In: Investigative Journalists . Rick Porrello's AmericanMafia.com. 1999. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ↑ a b c d [1] (English) Daniel Waugh: Gangs of St. Louis: Men of Respect on books.google.com, pp. 1–2, 30, 228–233 (English)
- ↑ Auble, John (2002). A History of St. Louis Gangsters . St. Louis, Missouri: The National Criminal Research Society. Pp. 36.
- ↑ a b c d Devico , pp. 197-202
- ↑ a b c d Editorial. "Giordano, St. Louis Mobster Boss, This." Chicago Tribune , Aug. 30, 1980, pp. W19.
- ↑ Machi, Mario, Allan May, and Charlie Molino. (1999). "St. Louis Family" . AmericanMafia.com. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ↑ a b Jerry Capeci: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia . Alpha Books, 2001, ISBN 0-02-864225-2 , p. 91. ( Google Books )
- ↑ Auble, John (2002). A History of St. Louis Gangsters . St. Louis, Missouri: The National Criminal Research Society. Pp. 105.
- ↑ Henry Levin: MATTHEW Trupiano, KNOWN AS LEADER OF AREA MOB, DIES AT 58 . In: St. Louis Post-Dispatch , Oct. 24, 1997, p. 1C.
- ↑ Dietche, Scott M. Dietche: The Everything Mafia Book: True Life Accounts of Legendary Figures, Infamous Crime Families, and Chilling Events (English) on books.google.co.uk, p. 150 f.