Zerilli family
The Zerilli family (Detroit Crime Family) , also known as Detroit Partnership or Detroit Combination is an Italian-American Mafia family of the American Cosa Nostra , headquartered in Detroit ( Michigan ). In addition to the five families from New York City and the Chicago outfit , the Detroit mafia was considered one of the most powerful in the country.
history
Detroit's first mafia gangs
The first dominant mafioso in the Detroit area was the elder of two brothers who immigrated from Alcamo ( Sicily ) - it was Vito Adamo , along with his brother Salvatore . They led a gang of Black Hand extortionists and thieves and were the first Italian criminals in their area to smuggle immigrants into the Michigan area. Their biggest source of income, however, was the sale of illegal liquor and beer - especially in the Italian community. The Adamo brothers operated in secret, like the mafiosi from their old homeland - Sicily - and did not become notorious as bosses outside Detroit's Little Italy by law enforcement agencies around 1912 .
Another mafia gang were the Gianolla brothers, who immigrated from Terrasini (Sicily). The second born of the three brothers was Antonino "Tony" Giannola, Jr. - a natural charismatic leader. His younger brother Salvatore "Sam" Gianolla was the so-called "enforcer" of the family and the oldest and wisest brother Gaetano acted as consigliere (advisor) of the group.
Gianolla-Adamo war
Between 1912 and 1913, a feud between the two gangs escalated. The Gianolla brothers felt they were the victors of the conflict after several deaths from the ranks of the Adamo gang were to be mourned. In April 1913, two Gianolla gang members named William Catalano and John Jervaso were murdered. These murders were followed by a series of murders and arrests on both sides. The confrontation was temporarily halted when Vito Adamo and two of his employees were convicted in court in August 1913 for the murder of Gianolla's top man Carlo Callego . However, an attempt on the life of Tony Giannola, Jr. failed only a little later. In the second half of 1913, the Gianollas indirectly struck back with the removal of partner and advisor Ferdinand Palma . The era of the Adamo brothers ended in November 1913 when Vito and Salvatore Adamo were gunned down. The Gianolla gang ruled at the highest level for the next 4-5 years.
Gianolla-Vitale War
During the rise of the Gianolla gang, the mafioso Giovanni "John" Vitale and his entourage became one of the most reliable and influential capos of the organization. The relationship between the factions of Gianolla and Vitale ran smoothly until Peter Bosco - a business partner of the Gianollas and also a confidante of Vitale - was murdered on Tony Gianolla's orders. The killing of Bosco eventually led to a conflict between the Gianollas and the Vitale group and ended their business relationship. The so-called subsequent "Gianolla-Vitale War" became known as one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the Detroit mafia. The Vitale gang fought fiercely and struck the first major blow on January 3, 1919 with the murder of Tony Gianolla. With the removal of Tony Gianolla, his brother Salvatore "Sam" Gianolla became the new head of the Detroit mafia. A failed attack on Salvatore followed in February 1919; however, his brother-in-law Pasquale D'Anna was murdered in the process. Just a few days after that attack, the day D'Anna was laid to rest during his funeral, Sam Gianolla ordered Vitale headquarters to be riddled with bullets. No one was killed, but John Vitale was so unnerved by the barrage of bullets that he accidentally shot and wounded one of the policemen interviewing him, so that Vitale was arrested. About two weeks later, Sam Gianolla dispatched a group of riflemen to Wayne County Jail , who opened fire on three Vitale associates who were either visiting or being released. The victims were Joe Vitale , Vito Renda and Salva Evola . Vitale and Evola survived, while Renda lived just long enough to break the code of Omertà and show the authorities that Sam Gianolla was one of the shooters; Gianolla was arrested and convicted but later acquitted.
In the late summer of 1919 a "sit-down" was called to give representatives of both warring parties the opportunity to meet. Sam Gianolla and John Vitale were among them. A peaceful solution should be found to end the conflict that had already claimed many lives on both sides. An underworld legend says that a peaceful solution was actually found and a "peace pact" was agreed, which the heads of both parties are said to have written down and sealed in blood.
With the advent of prohibition and the lucrative deals that would result, both groups planned in advance to organize themselves larger and more lucrative, so that despite a peace agreement, one of the two parties would have to subordinate itself for better or worse. On October 2, 1919, a few weeks before the so-called "Volstead Act" was passed, Sam Gianolla was shot and killed in a hail of bullets after visiting a bank. John Vitale became the prime suspect in the investigation into Gianolla's murder; however, Vitale was conveniently in a meeting with his lawyer at the time of the crime.
Downfall of Vitale
Vitale was now the most powerful and influential mafia boss in Detroit. His tenure, however, was short-lived and ended when he was murdered at 3:00 a.m. on the morning of October 2, 1920 by 18 bullets fired during a drive-by shoot . No one was ever charged for his murder. Today it is believed that it was an act of revenge for a drive-by shoot ordered by Vitale on August 10, 1920. In the act, the powerful mafioso and new leader of the former Gianolla faction Giuseppe Manzello was murdered. Manzello's followers like Angelo Meli , Angelo Polizzi , Vito William "Bill" Tocco , Joseph "Joe" Zerilli and Leonardo Cellura were very angry and demanded revenge on John Vitale.
During prohibition
Term of office of Catalanotte
Salvatore Catalanotte - a charismatic capo and president of the Unione Siciliana infiltrated by the mafia - was respected in the Detroit underworld for his intelligence and diplomacy and was the most powerful member of the former Gianolla faction after the murder of Manzello and has since been the new head of the mafia in Detroit recognized. Catalanotte formed a strong alliance known as Detroit's Westside Mob and appointed Angelo Meli as the new leader of the Manzello Group with Bill Tocco and Joe Zerilli as its right-hand man, known as the Eastside Mob . This combination in turn became known as the Pascuzzi Combine . Under Catalanotte, the organization controlled liquor smuggling, black market trafficking, gambling, prostitution, drugs and other business areas.
Ascent from Milazzo
Gaspar Milazzo - an influential mafioso during Prohibition - was born in 1887 and was originally from Castellammare del Golfo , Sicily. Milazzo was a loyal ally of the Bonanno Magaddino Bonventre clan, which was at war with the Buccellato clan in Sicily in the early 1900s and in 1921 he became together with Stefano Magaddino - the future boss of the Buffalo Crime Family , arrested for alleged involvement in a murder and then relocated to Detroit. The victim was a member of the rival Buccellato clan. As a member of the Eastside Mob, he quickly established himself as one of the most powerful and influential gangsters in the Detroit underworld and also acted as a mediator in disputes. Milazzo and Catalanotte soon became close business partners. After Catalanotte died of pneumonia in February 1930 at the age of 36, Milazzo headed the organization.
Change of power through La Mare
By then, there had been hardly any major conflicts in the Detroit Mafia for about a decade. However, the situation changed with the so-called War of Castellammare , which was fought largely in New York City, but had an impact on Mafia activities across the country. Milazzo and his loyal friend Magaddino supported Salvatore Maranzano in this conflict against Joe Masseria , whereupon Masseria tried to play Milazzo over Cesare Lamare , who was a member of the Westside Mob in Detroit . On May 31, 1930, Lamare and Milazzo were supposed to meet in a restaurant for a "sit-down". While Milazzo and his driver Sam Parrino were eating in a private area, two men armed with shotguns jumped out of a back room and murdered both of them.
With the support of Masseria, Lamare became the new head of the Detroit mafia; went underground, however, during the roughly a year-long war between the Eastside and Westside gangs that killed more than a dozen Mafia members in Detroit. La Mare was betrayed by two of his own people on behalf of Angelo Meli in February 1931 and he was shot in the back when he arrived at his house with them.
Detroit Partnership and Tocco
The now most powerful man of the Eastside Gang, "Bill" Tocco, joined forces with his closest confidants Angelo Meli and "Joe" Zerilli, with Giovanni "John" Priziola and Peter Joseph Licavoli ; five mafiosi who from then on ruled on one level as a body. Instead of Pascuzzi Combine , the Detroit Mafia was now also known as the Detroit Partnership .
When the war of Castellammare ended after the now infamous mobster Lucky Luciano , Maranzano and Masseria played off against each other and this led to their murder, he launched his idea of a so-called commission of the American mafia with the most powerful heads of the country . Two weeks after Masseria's death, Maranzano - self-proclaimed " Capo di tutti i capi " (boss of all bosses) - announced a new organizational structure for the mafia in the United States. From now on, every family should also have an official boss, underboss and consigliere. Bill Tocco was now the head, Joe Zerilli as the underboss and Angelo Meli as the consigliere of the family. Tocco's reign lasted for about 5 years until he was charged with tax evasion in March 1936. He resigned due to legal problems and Joe Zerilli became his direct successor. Despite Tocco being sentenced to eight years in prison, he remained Zerilli's number two underboss until his official retirement in 1963.
Zerilli era
Joseph "The old Man" Zerilli, also known as "Joe Uno" or "Joe Z.", would lead the family for the next 4 decades, until his death in 1977; In the history of the American Cosa Nostra, only Stefano Magaddino from Buffalo, New York , James Lanza from San Francisco and Carmine Persico, Jr. from the Colombo family from New York City had such a long tenure as official boss . Zerilli became one of the most influential and respected Mafia bosses in America and also held a seat on the American Mafia Commission from the early 1960s. Joe Z. went into semi-retirement in 1964 and appointed his son Anthony Joseph Zerilli , also known as "Tony Z.", as acting boss; was however imprisoned 1974-1979 together with his consigliere Giovanni Priziola and his father took over the complete management again during this time, until his death.
Tocco's regime, until today
With the death of Joe Z. Giovanni Priziola became the new head of the family. Priziola appointed
Giacomo "Black Jack" William Tocco - son of the former boss "Black Bill" from the early 1930s and protégé of Joe Z. - as incumbent boss, Tony Z. as underboss and Raffaele Quasarano - leader of the "Partinico faction" - as consigliere the family. Priziola died in 1979 at the age of 84 and "Black Jack" Tocco became his official successor. In the early 1980s, Black Jack named his brother Anthony Joseph Tocco , also known as "Tony T.", the new consigliere of the family. Because of this combination, or rather the Tocco-Zerilli regime, one later spoke of Detroit Partnership as well as Detroit Combination .
Black Jack Tocco went into semi-retirement at the beginning of the new millennium and appointed Jack Vito Giacalone , also known as "Jackie the Kid", as street boss. In 2008, Tony Z. was demoted by Tocco and forced into retirement and Joseph Mirabile was installed in his place as the new underboss. Giacomo William Tocco died of natural causes on July 14, 2014.
After Tocco's death, Jack Giacalone became the new head of the family. He appointed Anthony La Piana , also known as "Chicago Tony", as his underboss and Anthony Palazzolo , also known as "Tony Pal" as the new consigliere. Peter Tocco aka "Petey Specs" was appointed as the new street boss . Petey Specs is a nephew of "Black Jack" William Tocco.
The Detroit partnership has remained largely stable to this day and is still regarded as an extremely influential and criminal organization in the state of Michigan. Most of its members are related by blood or marriage; making it difficult for outsiders, including law enforcement agencies, to obtain information about them.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1908-1913 | Vito Adamo | 1883-1913 | murdered on November 24, 1913 | ||
| 1913-1919 | Antonino Giannola, Jr. | Tony | 1878-1919 | murdered on January 3, 1919 | Perpetrator: Tony Alescio |
| 1919-1919 | Salvatore Gianolla | Sam | 1889-1919 | murdered on October 2, 1919 | Brother of Antonino Giannola, Jr. |
| 1919-1920 | Giovanni Vitale | John | 1876-1921 | murdered on September 28, 1920 | |
| 1920-1930 | Salvatore Catalanotte | Sam | 1894-1930 | lung infection | |
| 1930-1930 | Gaspar Milazzo | The Peacemaker | 1887-1930 | murdered on May 31, 1930 | |
| 1930-1931 | Cesare Lamare | Chester | 1884-1931 | murdered on February 7, 1931 | Client: Angelo Meli |
| 1931-1936 | Vito William Tocco | Black Bill | 1897-1972 | Heart attack | resigned / became underboss |
| 1936-1977 | Joseph Zerilli | Joe the old man | 1897-1977 | natural death | |
| 1977-1979 | Giovanni Priziola | Papa John | 1893-1979 | natural death | |
| 1979-2014 | Giacomo William Tocco | Black jack | 1927-2014 | natural death | Imprisoned 1998–2001 |
| 2014 – today | Jack Vito Giacalone | Jackie the Kid | 1950 – today |
Acting boss
- 1964–1974: Anthony Joseph "Tony Z." Zerilli ; Imprisoned 1974–1979; became Underboss in 1977
- 1977–1979: Giacomo "Black Jack" William Tocco; became boss in 1979
Street Boss (Front Boss)
- 2002–2014: Jack Vito "Jackie the Kid" Giacalone; became boss in 2014
- 2014 – today: Peter “Petey Specs” Tocco ; Nephew of Giacomo William Tocco
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931-1936 | Joseph Zerilli | Joe the old man | 1897-1977 | natural death | became boss in 1936 |
| 1936-1963 | Vito William Tocco | Black Bill | 1897-1972 | Heart attack | was boss until 1936 |
| 1963-1972 | Peter Joseph Licavoli | 1902-1984 | Heart attack | ||
| 1972-1977 | Peter Vitale | Bozzi | ???? - 1997 | natural death | resigned |
| 1977-2008 | Anthony Joseph Zerilli | Tony Z. | 1927-2015 | natural death | Imprisoned 1974–1979 |
| 2008-2014 | Joseph Mirabile | Joe Hooks | resigned | ||
| 2014 – today | Anthony La Piana | Chicago Tony | 1943 – today |
Acting underboss
- 2002–2008: Vito William "Billy Jack" Giacalone ; * 1923–2012
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931-1969 | Angelo Meli | 1897-1969 | natural death | ||
| 1969-1977 | Giovanni Priziola | Papa John | 1893-1979 | natural death | became boss in 1977 |
| 1977-1981 | Raffaele Quasarano | Jimmy Q. | 1910-2001 | natural death | Imprisoned 1981–1985 |
| 1981-1993 | Michael Santo Polizzi | Big Mike | 1924-1997 | natural death | |
| 1993-2008 | Anthony Joseph Tocco | Tony T. | 1924-2012 | natural death | Brother of Giacomo William Tocco |
| 2008-2014 | Dominic Bommarito | Uncle Cathedral | |||
| 2014 – today | Anthony Palazzolo | Tony Pal |
Relationship within the organization
| Surname | Lifetime | Relationship within the organization |
|---|---|---|
| Vito William "Black Bill" Tocco | 1897-1972 | Father of Giacomo William Tocco and Anthony Joseph Tocco / brother-in-law of Joseph Zerilli |
| Anthony Joseph "Tony T." Tocco | 1924-2012 | Son of Vito William Tocco / brother of Giacomo William Tocco / son-in-law of Giuseppe "Joseph" Profaci / 1st cousin of Anthony Joseph Zerilli |
| Giacomo "Black Jack" William Tocco | 1927-2014 | Son of Vito William Tocco / brother of Anthony Joseph Tocco / uncle of Peter Tocco and Anthony La Piana / 1st cousin of Anthony Joseph Zerilli |
| Nove Tocco | Cousin of Giacomo William Tocco / grandson of Joseph Zerilli | |
| Peter "Petey Specs" Tocco | Nephew of Giacomo William Tocco | |
| Anthony "Chicago Tony" La Piana | 1943 – today | Nephew of Giacomo William Tocco |
| Joseph "Joe Z." Zerilli | 1897-1977 | Father of Anthony Joseph Zerilli / brother-in-law of Vito William Tocco / grandfather of Nove Tocco |
| Anthony Joseph "Tony Z." Zerilli | 1927-2015 | Son of Joseph Zerilli / 1st cousin of Giacomo William Tocco and Anthony Joseph Tocco |
| Anthony Joseph "Tony Jack" Giacalone | 1919-2001 | Brother of Vito William Giacalone / father of Anthony Giacalone, Jr. and Joseph Giacalone / uncle of Jack Vito Giacalone |
| Vito William "Billy Jack" Giacalone | 1923-2012 | Brother of Anthony Joseph Giacalone / Father of Jack Vito Giacalone / Uncle of Anthony Giacalone, Jr. and Joseph Giacalone |
| Jack Vito "Jackie the Kid" Giacalone | 1950 – today | Son of Vito William Giacalone / nephew of Anthony Joseph Giacalone / cousin of Anthony Giacalone, Jr. and Joseph Giacalone |
| Anthony "Fat Tony" Giacalone, Jr. | Son of Anthony Joseph Giacalone / brother of Joseph Giacalone / nephew of Vito William Giacalone / cousin of Jack Vito Giacalone | |
| Joseph "Joey Jack" Giacalone | Son of Anthony Joseph Giacalone / brother of Anthony Giacalone, Jr. / nephew of Vito William Giacalone / cousin of Jack Vito Giacalone |
Films and documentaries
- 1999: Bonanno: A Godfather's Story ; Gaspar Milazzo is played by Ralph Santostephano.
literature
- Scott M Burnstein: Motor City Mafia: A Century of Organized Crime , 2006, ISBN 978-0-7385-4084-9
Individual evidence
- ↑ Viral Nova - 7 Mafia Families That Are not From New York Or Chicago
- ↑ The American Mafia - Detroit Crime Bosses
- ^ Find a Grave - Vito Adamo
- ^ Find a Grave - Antonino Giannola, Jr
- ^ Find a Grave - Giovanni Vitale
- ^ Thomas Hunt, Michael A. Tona: The Good Killers: 1921's Glimpse of the Mafia . 2007. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. 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. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
- ↑ The American Mafia - Who Was Who: Lamare, Cesare
- ^ Martin A. Gosch, Richard Hammer: Last Testament of Lucky Luciano . ISBN 0-440-14705-0
- ↑ Capcei, Jerry. The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia "The Mafia's Commission" (pg. 31-46)
- ^ Humbert S. Nelli The business of crime: Italians and syndicate crime in the United States (pg. 206-208)
- ^ Geocities - Michael Santo Polizzi
- ↑ The Detroit Mafia, Mario Machi .
- ↑ Gangster Deport - New Detroit mob boss Jack Giacalone appoints new mob hierarchy
- Jump up ↑ Gangster Report - Detroit Mob Associate In Hot Water Again
- ↑ Organized Crime In Detroit: Forgotten But Not Gone . James Buccellato and Scott M. Burnstein.
- ^ Gangster Deport - Jimmy Hoffa's Corpse Most Likely Cremated At Detroit Mob's Central Sanitation
