April 2012 Issue of Informer

April 2012 Contents
Editorial

The average Mafia aficionado likely feels that he or she already knows a great deal about New York gangland chieftain Charlie "Lucky" Luciano. Just about everyone knows, for example, that Luciano survived being taken "for a ride" by his rivals, that he was nicknamed "Lucky" as a result of that episode and that he single-handledly revolutionized organized crime in the United States. Just about everyone knows those things; unfortunately none are true. The problem is that much of what is generally believed about the 1930s-era crime boss can be traced to fictional works and a single, terribly suspect Luciano biography.

In this issue, Informer takes a close look at Salvatore Lucania, a.k.a. Charlie Luciano, intending to separate fact from fiction and to establish the real-world details of his life and criminal career. A great deal of the material written about Luciano and his associates since the mid-1970s rests upon an insecure foundation: The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano by Martin Gosch and Richard Hammer.

Though often criticized by historians as the product of Gosch's imagination, The Last Testament has been widely (and inexplicably) accepted as a near-autobiographical telling of Luciano's life story. Quotes from the work have appeared in books about Luciano and his ally Meyer Lansky. Even some who have been vocally critical of Last Testament's contents and Gosch's methods have found it impossible to resist borrowing tales from the book for their own works.

In our featured article, historian Richard Warner explores The Last Testament and the claims of its authors. He compares its contents to the historical record in order to deliver what should be "The Last Word on The Last Testament" (preview).

Thomas Hunt follows up with a Luciano lifetime chronology. While the Gosch-Hammer controversy is noted, "Year-by-year: Charlie Lucky's life" is devoid of Last Testament influence (preview).

Also in this issue, we present the second installment of “Gunmen of the Castellammarese War,” as historians Lennert van ‘t Riet, David Critchley and Steve Turner tell the story of Steve Rannelli (preview); Edmond Valin identifies underworld informants from the Philly Mob (preview); Bill Feather provides an extensive membership chart for the post-Luciano Genovese Crime Family of New York (preview); Richard Warner recommends books on Al Capone (preview); and Patrick Downey discusses gangsters who were sent to watery graves (preview).

One hundred pages. Published April 20, 2012.

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Last Word on 'Last Testament'

April 2012 Contents
Feature Article

The Last Word on 

'The Last Testament'

By Richard N. Warner

"In 1975 the publishing house of Little, Brown and Company released The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano, penned by movie producer Martin A. Gosch and former New York Times journalist and author Richard Hammer. The book became a near-bestseller, and a paperback edition soon was published by Dell....
"Although Last Testament was positively received by the public, it came under heavy fire by journalists who had years specializing in organized crime research. The first negative criticism was offered by New York Times organized crime specialist Nicholas Gage. It was followed by a scathing review from former New York Post writer Tony Scaduto. The harshest criticism, however, came from an official government source – the Federal Bureau of Investigation..."

Twenty-nine and a half pages
Including twelve images and four and a half pages of notes.

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Year-by-year: Charlie Lucky's Life

April 2012 Contents
Feature Article

Year-by-year: 

Charlie Lucky's Life

By Thomas Hunt

"[1926:] Six days after the shooting, Levy and Haffman tell police they know who Levy’s attackers were. Twenty police detectives are sent to round up the men they identify. The following day, Lucania is charged with felonious assault. Also charged are John T. 'Legs' Diamond of the Hotel Empire, his brother Eddie Diamond of the Penn Post Hotel and James Walsh of 345 West Seventieth Street. The suspects are held in connection with the Levy shooting and also questioned about the December 11 incident at Broadway and Fiftieth Street.
"When two of the suspects are brought to Levy’s hotel room for identification, the wounded insurance broker says, 'There’s some mistake. These aren’t the men.' On December 29, Lucania, the Diamond brothers and Walsh are discharged in magistrate’s court."

Twenty-seven and a half pages
Including twenty-four images and five pages of notes.

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Gunmen of the Castellammarese War - Part 2

April 2012 Contents
Feature Article 
Second in a Series

Gunmen of the Castellammarese War, Part Two

A Series of Serious Errors: 

The Underworld Career of Steve Rannelli

By Lennert van`t Riet, David Critchley and Steve Turner.

"While not as mysterious an identity to the public as Sebastiano 'Buster from Chicago' Domingo, Stefano Rannelli was strategically more important to the outcome of the Castellammarese War. His story also gives us insights into the personal life of a Mafia killer during the conflict..."

Twelve and a half pages
Including seven images and three pages of notes.

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Identifying Underworld Informants

April 2012 Contents
Column

Identifying Underworld Informants:

Two 'Made' Members Provided

the FBI with Info on Philly Mob

By Edmond Valin

"...In Philadelphia, the FBI managed to persuade two inducted Mafia members to share confidential information. Their disclosures provided the foundation for the Bureau’s understanding of the Philly Mob. Although FBI documents are carefully crafted to protect the identities of informants, enough clues were left in the documents to make identification of the two Philadelphia informants possible."

Four pages
Including one image and one page of notes.

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Genovese Mafia Chart

April 2012 Contents
Mafia Membership Chart

Genovese Mafia Membership Chart

Bill Feather provides background information on more than 300 members of the Genovese Crime Family active in the 1950s-1960s era.

Seven pages.

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DGIS: Watery Gangland Graves

April 2012 Contents
Column

Dead Guys in Suits:

Some Gangland Victims

Subjected to Soggy Sendoffs

By Patrick Downey

"In the previous Dead Guys in Suits offering, we discussed those unfortunate gangsters who were sent off with a Fahrenheit-451 salute. In this issue, we will take a look at some who were disposed of by use of one of the other elements, water..."

Two and a half pages.

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The Warner Files: Capone Reading List

April 2012 Contents
Column

The Warner Files: 

A Short Reading List for Capone Enthusiasts

By Richard N. Warner

 "Not too long ago in an online Mafia discussion forum, a bunch of us spoke about recommending certain organized crime history books for beginning researchers. Definitely a good idea. So to get things started in this edition of The Warner Files I'm going to throw out some of my recommended titles..."

Two pages.

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A Look Back

April 2012 Contents
Column 

A Look Back 
Historical entries from 100 years ago, 75 years ago, 50 years ago, 25 years ago and 10 years ago.

One and a half pages. 

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Ad: Mob Legends - Luciano

Mob Legends - Lucky Luciano:

History and folklore collide on pop art couture. Special discount for Informer readers. Purchase any Lucky Luciano-themed shirt and get a poster free.

www.knockbacks.com 

(Limited time offers.)

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Delivery of April 2012 print issue

Print subscribers please note:

Due to its size, the April issue requires some special shipping measures from HP's MagCloud service. The issue should reach U.S. addresses by the first week of May, U.K. addresses by the second week and Netherlands addresses by end of the month.

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Informer advertisers to date

We wish to thank the following advertisers who have supported Informer: The History of American Crime and Law Enforcement:

The American Mafia website (www.onewal.com, mafiahistory.us);
Bad Seeds in the Big Apple: Bandits, Killers and Chaos in New York City 1920-1940 by Patrick Downey;
Balls: The Life of Eddie Trascher, Gentleman Gangster by Scott M. Deitche;
Bonnie and Clyde: The Lives Behind the Legend by Paul Schneider;
But He Was Good to his Mother: The Lives and Crimes of Jewish Gangsters by Robert A. Rockaway;
The Case Against Lucky Luciano: New York's Most Sensational Vice Trial by Ellen Poulsen;
The Company She Keeps: The Dangerous Life of a Model Turned Mafia Wife by Georgia Durante;
The Complete Public Enemy Almanac by William J. Helmer and Rick Mattix;
Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia by Thomas Hunt and Martha Macheca Sheldon;
The First Family: Terror, Extortion, Revenge, Murder and the Birth of the American Mafia by Mike Dash;
The First Vice Lord: Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee by Art Bilek;
Gangsters Incorporated website (www.gangstersinc.ning.nl);
King of the Sunset Strip by Steve Stevens and Craig Lockwood;
Knokaround Apparel (www.knockbacks.com);
Knokaround Apparel & Gorilla Convict Publications;
Legs Diamond: Gangster by Patrick Downey;
The Life and Death of Pretty Boy Floyd by Jeffery S. King;
The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob by Frank Hayde;
The MobTours of Niagara Falls;
A Murder in Tulsa: The Sherrill Murder Case & The Rise of the Barker-Karpis Gang by Michael Koch;
On the Rock by Robert Livesey;
On the Spot Journal of Crime and Law Enforcement in the Twenties through the Thirties;
The Origin of Organized Crime in America by David Critchley;
The Rise and Fall of the Dillinger Gang by Jeffery S. King;
Running with Dillinger: The Story of Red Hamilton and Other Forgotten Canadian Outlaws by Edward Butts;
The Silent Don: The Criminal Underworld of Santo Trafficante by Scott M. Deitche;
The Starker: Big Jack Zelig, the Becker-Rosenthal Case and the Advent of the Jewish Gangster by Rose Keefe;
Superthief by Rick Porrello;
Uncle Al Capone by Deirdre Marie Capone.

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Informer contributors to date

We wish to thank the following individuals, who have provided articles/research data or granted extended interviews to Informer: The History of American Crime and Law Enforcement:


Ryan Artis, Arthur Bilek, Deirdre Marie Capone, David Critchley, Scott Deitche, Patrick Downey, Justin Dugard, Bill Feather, Sandra Harmon, William J. Helmer, Alex Hortis, Thom L. Jones, Jeffery S. King, Chriss Lyon, Rick Mattix, Arthur Nash, Gregory Peduto, Rick Porrello, Ellen Poulsen, Marina Riggio, Richard Shaw, Martha Sheldon, Steve Stevens and Craig Lockwood, Michael A. Tona, Edmond Valin, Richard N. Warner.

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January 2012 Issue of Informer

January 2012 Contents
Editorial

Numerous questions remain about Joseph Profaci and the Brooklyn-based crime family associated with his name. We are left to guess, for example, how Profaci rose to the leadership of the organization, how the independence of the relatively small Mafia clan was secured and how the organization managed to wield a level of influence that far exceeded its apparent numerical strength. In some Mafia histories, the Profaci Family seems to appear instantaneously in Prohibition Era Bath Beach and Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, already with Profaci at the helm and already a major player in underworld events.

While details of the origin of the Profaci Mafia are elusive, in this issue Thomas Hunt strives to provide a foundation for future research by noting Profaci’s kinship and Sicilian hometown ties to underworld figures whose presence in the U.S. predated his own (see preview).

In a collection of biographical essays, Justin Dugard sheds light on a few of the more shadowy figures of the Profaci-Colombo organization (see preview). Dugard also adds a Colombo Crime Family violence timeline (see preview). Bill Feather provides a Colombo Family membership chart (see preview).

Additional Profaci-Colombo coverage includes relevant portions of the House Select Committee on Assassinations report (see preview), an interview with Sandra Harmon, author of Mafia Son (see preview), and a book review of FBI agent Lindley DeVecchio’s book, We’re Going To Win This Thing (see preview).

We also review a new book on James "Whitey" Bulger and other gangsters who have called Boston, Massachusetts, their home, The Boston Mob Guide (see preview).

This issue also marks the beginning of a series of articles by David Critchley on the Gunmen of the Castellammarese War. In the first installment, Critchley examines the enigmatic Maranzano hit man, “Buster from Chicago” (see preview).

Sixty-eight pages. Published January 20, 2012.

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Giuseppe Profaci's Rise

January 2012 Contents
Feature Article
By Thomas Hunt

Giuseppe Profaci steps from obscurity

to leadership of an influential

New York Mafia family

Profaci's Rise

By Thomas Hunt

"Little information exists on the earliest days of the underworld organization known today as the Colombo Crime Family. In some United States Mafia histories, the crime family simply (though somewhat ridiculously) springs to life, already fully grown and with Giuseppe Profaci as its boss, in Prohibition Era Brooklyn. While it is impossible at this time to fill in all of the blanks of the crime family history, it appears that the roots of the Profaci-Colombo organization stretch back to a network of influential families in the region of Villabate, Sicily."

Twelve pages including one and a half pages of notes, a family tree and four images.

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Colombo Family Profiles

January 2012 Contents
Feature Article
By Justin Dugard

Benedetto D'Alessandro,

Simone Andolino,

Vincent Mangano

By Justin Dugard

"...D’Alessandro is believed to have been formally inducted into the Profaci Crime Family by the late 1920s. Like many others in the underworld organization, he had family connections with the Profaci clan going back to Sicily. His first run-in with the law occurred on July 9, 1928, when he was picked up in Baltimore, Maryland, for attempting to fraudulently obtain a motor vehicle title. At the time of his arrest, he gave an alias, Benny Castelli, and claimed residence in Baltimore via a false address. The case ended in acquittal..."

Eight and a half pages including nine photographs.

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