John Sebastian Larocca

John Sebastian LaRocca (born December 19, 1901 in Sicily , † December 3, 1984 in the United States ) was a Sicilian-American mobster of the American Cosa Nostra and for almost three decades until his death, boss who is named after him today LaRocca family (Pittsburgh crime family) headquartered in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania .

Life

Born in Villarosa, Sicily, LaRocca emigrated with his family to the United States in 1910 and settled in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. As a young man, LaRocca went to coal mines there. In 1922, at the age of 20, he was charged with assaulting a young woman and sentenced to three years in prison.

LaRocca became a professional criminal and rose in 1936 under the leadership of Francesco Amato to the underboss of the Pittsburgh crime family . Amarto ruled for almost two decades until he fell seriously ill and resigned as boss in 1956 and remained number two in the family as underboss. The position as the new head of the family was taken by John Larocca, after whose name the family was later named.

In 1957, along with about 100 other Mafiosi, he attended the famous Apalachin meeting , together with Capo (Captain) Gabriel "Kelly" Mannarino and Consigliere (consultant) Michael James Genovese , which was a disaster by the local police. LaRocca escaped federal authorities, but Mannarino and Genovese were briefly arrested.

LaRocca and Mannarino became partners in the Sans Souci Hotel-Casino in Havana (Cuba) of Santo Trafficante, Jr. , the boss of the Trafficante family . In 1959, however, the Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro took control of Cuba and largely forced the mafiosi to withdraw.

Through bribery, LaRocca became a very powerful boss and had politicians, police officers and other Pittsburgh officials in his pocket. His family also controlled Laborers Local Union # 1058 . LaRocca's influence also grew strongly through close ties to Gambino boss Carlo Gambino , Bufalino boss Russell Bufalino , Bruno boss Angelo Bruno and Civella boss Nick Civella .

In the 1960s, LaRocca began a conflict with the Cleveland crime family when they began to expand into Youngstown, Ohio .

In 1964, LaRocca helped Frank J. Valenti take over the management of the Rochester family and remove Jake Russo as head.

LaRocca died of natural causes on December 3, 1984, aged 82, and Michael James Genovese became the new boss of the LaRocca family.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Organized Crime in Pennsylvania: Traditional and Non-Traditional . Pennsylvania Crime Concession. April 15, 1988. ( The Nevada Observer . August 16, 2006) ( Memento of the original from November 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Capeci, Chapter 5 "Mafia Families Poison the Northeast"
3. ↑ Jason Cato. Reputed mob boss linked to "old-time Mafia" ( memento of the original from February 22, 2011 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (November 2, 2006) Pittsburgh Tribune Review 
4. ↑ ^{a b} Devico, (pg. 185-187)
5. ↑ ^{a b} The American Mafia.com "Pittsburgh crime family" ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 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. 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Ove, Torsten. Mafia has long history here, growing from bootlegging days . November 06, 2000. Post-Gazette.com (Part II)
7. ↑ ^{a b} La Cosa Nostra: John Sebastian La Rocca. (2007-2011) lacndb.com Sebastian La Rocca
8. ↑ ^{a b} Porrello pg. 184
9. ↑ ^{a b} La Cosa Nostra: Gariel Mannarino. (2007-2010) lacndb.com Mannarino
10. ↑ Devico pg. 190