Rochester family

The Rochester family (Rochester Crime Family) was an Italian-American mafia family of the American Cosa Nostra with headquarters in Rochester ( New York ). Since the death of Samuel Russotti in 1993, it has been assumed that it is no longer an organized mafia family. The members and associates, who were still alive at the time and who came out of prison after various arrests, either remained inactive or apparently without leadership.

history

prohibition

During the Prohibition Period in the United States , the majority of the Rochester population disagreed with this law. The police carried out weekly raids on whisper bars and illegal distilleries. Alfio Boscarino was Rochester's self-proclaimed "King of Smugglers". He ran a 3,000-gallon distillery on Sander St. Until the mid-1920s, Rochester was home to some of the most powerful Italian smuggler syndicates, led by former black-hander Joseph Lodato and Alfio Boscarino. Various other Italian smuggling gangs were also active in the city, most of them sympathetic to or subordinate to the Lodato and Boscarino gangs. According to the findings of raids, Boscarino appears to have been the more active of the two bosses.

While the Italian smuggling business in Rochester got off to a relatively peaceful start, in 1926 hostilities began to develop between the various factions; the focus was on Boscarino. The shootings began on the night of April 13, 1927, when Boscarino was ambushed and shot. The brothers Vincenzo and Antonio Infantino were suspected as perpetrators . However, both were released due to insufficient evidence. Boscarino was silent and the case remained unsolved. About a month later, on May 1st, his main rival, Joseph Lodato, was shot dead. Seven of Lodato's associates were arrested as witnesses. Among them was Pasquale "Patsy" Amico , a Lodato partner who rose quickly within the ranks of the Lodato group and became an important figure in the Rochester Mafia in the years to come. In July of the same year Boscarino was shot again. Again the Infantino brothers were arrested. Boscarino identified Anthony as a shooter and he went to court; Infantino was acquitted. With a bodyguard, Boscarino drove to Buffalo on September 12, 1930 and shot Infantino in front of a police station. A few days later, he died of his wounds and Boscarino was charged with murder. A few months before, Vincenzo Infantino had lost his wife and daughter after a failed attempt on his life. Of course, Boscarino was also suspected here.

Amico era

With Boscarino's later demise, other gangs of smugglers rose to prominence. In the meantime, Pasquale Amico, together with his partner and suspected underboss , Vito Piccaretto , was one of the most powerful liquor smugglers in Rochester after they had taken over the former operations of Joseph Lodato. When prohibition was lifted in December 1933, mobsters like Amico, Piccaretto and Boscarino sought involvement in other criminal activities such as gambling, forgery, break-ins and robbery. The smuggling era ended and the groups coexisted peacefully again. One can assume that this was due to the fact that one of the leaders rose to be sole boss and organized the Italian underworld. If such a leader actually existed, it was the most powerful mobster of the moment, Pasquale Amico. Among other things, he maintained good relationships with the Magaddino family from Buffalo. Amico remained a leading figure in the Rochester mafia until his death in 1947. Three of Amico's sons later followed in their father's footsteps and became members of the Mafia. Piccaretto also died in 1947.

Leadership question

Although a successor is expected to be quickly appointed, it remains unclear who that person was. Various information on the period between 1947 and 1957 is simply missing. Although several Rochester Mafia members cooperated with the authorities in the later years, no one was able to provide all the information relating to this period of time, and the authorities were also unable to uncover any links to an organized criminal network.

It was not until 1957, ten years after the death of Amico and Piccaretto, that Rochester's allegedly leading Mafia figures were positively identified. The trigger for this was the famous Apalachin meeting - a gathering of almost all bosses of the American Cosa Nostra in November 1957, which took place in the community of Apalachin in the state of New York and was stormed by the local police. Constenze "Stanley" Valenti is said to have dominated the underworld in Rochester as head, together with his brother Frank Joseph Valenti as underboss. While it is possible that Costanze had control of the Rochester Mafia since Amico and Piccaretto's deaths, it seems unlikely since he was only twenty-one at the time. Frank, though fifteen years older, but also was an unlikely candidate for such a position because he is from the late 1940s until the early 1950s in Pittsburgh ( Pennsylvania was staying).

Change of power

After both refusing to answer questions before a grand jury investigated the reasons for the underworld meeting, they were jailed for disobeying the court in August 1958. Frank was released within a year and Costanze after sixteen months. Although both were free again, the Valentis were unable to maintain control of Rochester's underworld activities. Both were under constant surveillance by law enforcement. In April 1961, Frank Valenti was sentenced to three years in exile from Rochester. He returned to Pittsburgh, where he had spent most of his adult life. Stanley, unable to move freely without federal agents, could hardly be a potential boss. Someone else was in charge of the Rochester Mafia.

According to the authorities, after the Valentis' stay in prison, Jacomino "Jake Russo" Russolesi took over as the new head in 1958 with the help of the Magaddino family. Towards the end of 1963, Russolesi is said to have fallen out of favor with Buffalo boss Stefano Magaddino . In September 1964, Frank Valenti's exile ended and he returned to Rochester, where he attempted to regain control of the local underworld. He himself is said to have come to an agreement with Magaddino. In November 1964, Frank Valenti announced that he was the new head of the local mafia and organized two big festivals at which almost the entire local gambling scene and various Valentis sympathizers were present. Russolesi was not one of the guests after he mysteriously disappeared a few days before Valenti's first party and was never found. The prosecution's unproven suspicion was that Valenti had secured his new position with Russolesi's murder.

In December 1972, he was convicted of extortion and received a twenty-year prison term. In March of the following year, he was convicted of violating the Gun Act and five more years were added.

Russotti regime

Underboss Samuel J. Russotti took over the management of the family and appointed Rene Piccarreto as consigliere and the family capo Salvatore "Sammy G." Gingello as his underboss. Remaining Valenti loyalists were either forced out of town or joined Russotti's new regime. Stanley Valenti, who was a capo during his brother's reign, was demoted.

Russotti, Piccaretto, Gingello, and three other Mafia members were charged with conspiracy to murder in November 1976 and all received long prison terms in January 1977. It was the first major blow to the Rochester mob since Valenti's incarceration. However, the success did not last long. In September of that year, rumors arose that several members of the sheriff's department had committed perjury during the trial and a federal investigation ensued. On February 1, 1978, all convicted were released from prison.

Alphabet war

When Russotti was convicted in January 1977, he named a subordinate, Thomas Didio , who was in charge of his underworld operations, as acting boss. Didio, however, wanted to consolidate his leading role and not give it up. For the second time in the 1970s, the factions of the Rochester Mafia grouped against each other. In an attempt to strengthen his position, Didio sought advice from Stanley Valenti, who in turn consulted his brother. Frank saw the split as an opportunity to regain his former power after his release from prison. Both law enforcement and the media followed developments with interest. The most important actors of the factions were quickly identified and so the Valenti and Didio factions were popularly called "A-Team" and the loyalists around Russotti "B-Team". The inevitable struggle that followed was therefore known as the "Alphabet War".

After several unsuccessful attempts, the B-Team managed to blow up Gingello's car in April 1978. Gingello himself did not survive, but his two bodyguards miraculously survived the attack and escaped with only minor injuries. On May 19, 1978 Didio loyalists bombed a social club that functioned as a gaming room and was connected to Russotti. Four days later, another Russotti-controlled gaming room was bombed. On May 25, just six days after the first bombing, Rosario Chirico, one of the leading figures on the B-Team, was shot dead by a sniper. The next fatality fell in July 1978. It was B-Team boss Thomas Didio who was shot dead just five days after two B-Team figures were arrested with a load of dynamite in their possession. Rodney Starkweather, a B-Team loyalist, was also shot shortly thereafter, but survived and decided to partner with law enforcement in February 1979. With the death of Didio, the violence gradually came to an end and various charges and convictions followed due to media and police pressure.

Rochester law enforcement did everything possible to stop the mob and the violence that went with it. On November 10, 1982, Russotti, Piccarreto, and eight others were charged in a blackmail case on which they were charged with a variety of crimes, including murder. All ten of the defendants paid bail and were soon back on the streets. In October 1984, Salvatore Russotti was found guilty, as were Piccarreto, Capo Thomas Marotta and four others. Despite the acquittal of three defendants, the outcome of the trial was a great victory for law enforcement.

Downfall

With Russotti's incarceration and the rest of the upper tier, the Rochester mafia was once again leaderless. Rene's son, the new underboss of the family named Loren Piccarreto , supported the aspiring Angelo Joseph Amico, Sr. , who is the son of the former boss Pasquale Amico. Because of the internal dispute and the success of the prosecution against several members and relatives, the influence of the family had diminished enormously. While Amico and Piccarreto fought to hold on to their criminal operations, the law fought them. Electronic eavesdropping devices were installed at various locations, providing a wealth of information about Amico and its employees. In October of the same year, Amico, Piccarreto, Joseph LoDolce , Joseph Geniola and another acquitted in 1984 were charged again. When the trial began in October 1988, Amico was not among the defendants to appear in court. He had previously pleaded guilty to both extortion and membership of a criminal organization. Despite immediate speculation from the media and the defense lawyers for the remaining three defendants, Amico had not agreed to testify against his employees. In December, Piccarreto, LoDolce and Geniola were found guilty of conspiracy to control organized gambling. Amico received fourteen, Piccarreto and LoDolce seven and Geniola four years. The once relatively well-established Rochester Mafia was crumbling, but in reality the mob was already on its feet when Amico was still in control. By the early 1990s, the Rochester Mafia was reduced in size and influence to little more than a street group. The members and loved ones who were still alive and released from prison either remained inactive or appeared to be without guidance.

Historical tour

Head of the family

The head of a family can not 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; d. H. 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
1930s-1947	Pasquale Amico	Patsy	???? - 1947	natural death
???? - 1958	Constenze Valenti	Stanley	1926-2001	natural death	Imprisoned 1958–1959
1958-1964	Jacomino Russolesi	Jake Russo			missing since December 1964
1964-1972	Frank Joseph Valenti		1911-2008	natural death	Imprisoned 1972–1980
1872-1993	Samuel J. Russotti	Red	1912-1993	Heart attack	1977–1978 and 1984 imprisoned until death

Acting boss

• 1977–1978: Thomas Didio  ; * 1931-1978; murdered on July 6, 1978
• 1977–1978: Salvatore "Sammy G." Gingello; murdered on April 23, 1978
• 1984-1988: Angelo Joseph Amico, Sr  .; * 1931-2011; Imprisoned 1988–1993

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
1930s-1947	Vito Piccaretto		???? - 1947
1957-1961	Frank Joseph Valenti		1889-1944	natural death	Imprisoned 1958–1959 / became boss in 1964
1964-1972	Samuel J. Russotti	Red	1912-1993	Heart attack	became boss in 1972
1872-1988	Salvatore Gingello	Sammy G.	1939-1978	murdered on April 23, 1978	became acting boss at the same time in 1977
1978-1984	Richard Marino
1984-1988	Loren Piccarreto		1951 – today		Imprisoned 1989–1994

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
1964-1984	Rene Piccarreto		1924-2014	natural death	Imprisoned 1977–1978 and 1984–2007

Individual evidence

1. ^ The Rochester Insomniac - Prohibition in Rochester: An Era at It's End
2. ↑ Crime Inquiry Still Checking on Apalachin Meeting. In: Toledo Blade. Associated Press, July 2, 1958, p. Two , accessed May 27, 2012 . 
3. ↑ 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 . 
4. ^ Mafia Membership Charts - Lennert's Rochester list