Ruffino and the White Slave Trade

October 2013 Contents
Feature Article

Ruffino and the 'White Slave' trade

By Joshua R. Henze

"The history of the Mafia criminal society is brimming with Giuseppe Ruffinos, and each of the men mentioned above has caught the attention of gangland chroniclers. However, one Giuseppe Ruffino, has virtually escaped the notice of history. Neglected to date, Giuseppe Ruffino of San Giuseppe Jato, Sicily, is worthy of some attention. In the summer of 1908, he gained sensational headlines as an elusive “Black Hand” leader who evaded law enforcement in Rochester, New York, and Chicago, was captured in Milwaukee, and was ultimately convicted in New York for white slavery..."

Thirty-three pages, including eight images and ten and a half pages of notes.

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Hit Man Chester Wheeler Campbell

October 2013 contents
Feature Article

Pandemonium in the Courtroom

By Christian Cipollini

An excerpt from Diary of a Motor City Hit Man.
"As if the Detroit-area judicial system did not already have more than its share of legal mischief, outlandish courtroom antics became the norm in the summer of 1975. Scandal, rumor and conspiracy worked their way into legal proceedings, and accusations of unsavory behavior were not directed solely toward accused criminals. The supposed “good guys” were under scrutiny for doing some not-so-good things, and the “bad guys” were being testified against by, well, basically just a bunch of other bad guys. In Michigan’s sultry summer months, various elements combined to create Pandemonium in the courtroom. Decorum surrendered to more arguments, physical altercations, threats and theatrics than could be seen in any television drama..."

Eight pages, with seven images.

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Los Angeles Mafia Chart

October 2013 contents
Mafia Membership Chart

Los Angeles Mafia Chart, 1910s-40s

By Bill Feather

Sixty-five documented and suspected members of the Southern California crime family based in Los Angeles active in the period of the 1910s through the 1940s. Chart contains information on aliases, birth, death, immigration, family connections and underworld rank.

Four pages.

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Books: Motor City Hit Man

October 2013 contents
Column

Just One More Thing
By Thomas Hunt

Review: Diary of a Motor City Hit Man

"In Diary of a Motor City Hit Man, author Christian Cipollini expertly crafts the intriguing story of Chester Wheeler Campbell's life and criminal career. Campbell was a freelance killer, who worked for various narcotics outfits in the Midwest and was for a time considered the most-feared man in Detroit. The narrative springs from a detailed description of a single, random event, the 1975 near-collision of Campbell's rented Oldsmobile with a Keego Harbor, Michigan, patrol car..."

Six and a half pages.

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Books: 'DiCarlo' revises Buffalo mob history

October 2013 contents
Books

DiCarlo biography revises

Buffalo underworld history

"The crime family of western New York was not at all a Magaddino-monolith as it is often portrayed. The Buffalo branch of that organization predated notorious Mafia boss Stefano Magaddino’s arrival in the region by decades, frequently resisted his control and eventually threw off his leader-ship to briefly restore the older DiCarlo-Pieri underworld dynasty, according to a coauthor of DiCarlo: Buffalo’s First Family of Crime..."

Four pages.

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The Warner Files: Religion and Mafia, Part 2

October 2013 Contents
Column

The Warner Files

Religion and the Mafia, Part 2

By Richard N. Warner

"In this issue we look at the personal side of religion and the Mafia. Most readers of the Cosa Nostra, except for those who live under rocks, have heard of Michael Franzese. He is the son of Colombo crime family underboss John “Sonny” Franzese, a former caporegime, and was one of the Mafia’s biggest earners thanks to a scheme to cheat the United States government of gaso-line taxes by using dummy corporations..."

Three and a half pages.

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October issue deadlines

Articles deadline for the October issue of Informer is today (Aug. 26).
Ad deadline is Sept. 30.
Scheduled publication date for the issue is Oct. 28.
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July 2013 Issue of Informer

July 2013 Contents
Editorial

“Diamond Joe" Esposito entered the United States at a time when there was no easily discernible difference between organized crime and organized politics. Each had the same objectives and made use of the same tactics. Frequently, they had the same membership rolls.

After settling for a time in Brooklyn, Esposito migrated to Chicago, effec-tively blazing a trail that later would be followed by such gangland figures as Johnny Torrio and Al Capone. In the Windy City, Esposito performed apparently conflicting functions while inhabiting the twilight area between underworld and overworld, between the unprincipled street toughs and the respectable citizens.
That he used his influence to assist the poor immigrant families in his district is well established. However, it cannot be denied that he also aided those who preyed upon and terrorized the same families.

The story of Esposito’s life, provided by Lennert van`t Riet and David Critchley, is a window into a tumultuous period from the close of the Gilded Age through the early years of the Prohibition Era. (Preview)

Also in this issue of Informer:

- Bill Feather provides an early Buffalo Crime Family membership chart (Preview).

- Thomas Hunt and Michael A. Tona relate how a successful raid by Prohibition agents led to the distribution of poisonous alcohol in the United States and Canada (Preview).

- Longtime Bonanno Crime Family member Frank Bonomo is the subject of a gangland profile by J. Dugard (Preview).

- Oscar Goodman, former mob defense lawyer and mayor of Las Vegas, sits down for an interview with Richard N. Warner (Preview).

- Thomas Hunt ponders the re-release of The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano (Preview).

Eighty-eight pages including cover.

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'Diamond Joe' Esposito

July 2013 Contents
Feature Article

'He was a faithful, generous and loyal friend'

The Life and Crimes of 

'Diamond Joe' Esposito

By Lennert van‘t Riet 

and David Critchley

"An early example of the rise of Italian immigrants to positions of political influence in the United States, Giuseppe 'Diamond Joe' Esposito was a legendary mediator between organized criminals and political interests in Chicago. Rarely involved directly in criminality and seldom held legally accountable for his follies, Esposito was accused of using old-style political beneficence to enhance his own power and expand the influence of bootleggers and racketeers. The causes of his 1928 murder remain something of a mystery, but probably relate to the violent intersection of organized crime and organized politics in the Windy City..."

Thirty-two pages, including five pages of notes, sixteen photographs and one map.

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Bootleg Poison

July 2013 Contents
Feature Article

A raid by Prohibition agents set in motion

events that led to deaths, blindings

Poison

By Thomas Hunt and 

Michael A. Tona

"One of Prohibition’s more severe unintended con-sequences was a wave of deaths and blindings among residents in western New York and nearby Canada that lasted through the early summer of 1926. Reports of the casualties followed closely behind a successful law enforcement raid of an alcohol redistilling operation in mid-spring..."

Fourteen pages, including two pages of notes and ten images.

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Buffalo Mafia Chart

July 2013 Contents
Mafia Membership Chart

Buffalo Mafia Chart, 1910s-1940s

By Bill Feather

More than one hundred documented and suspected members of the Buffalo-based Magaddino "Arm" Crime Family active in the period of the 1910s through the 1940s. Chart contains information on aliases, birth, death, immigration, family connections and underworld rank.

Six pages.

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Gangland Profile: Bonomo

July 2013 Contents
Feature Article

Gangland Profile: Frank Bonomo

By J. Dugard

"Frank Bonomo was a long-time member of the Bonanno Crime Family, who briefly may have served as a capodecina (group leader) during the late 1970s. Equally adept at avoiding the attention of law enforcement and the wrath of rivals, he survived the New York gangland 'Banana War' and lived to the age of 86..."

Eight pages, including two pages of notes and six photographs.

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The Warner Files: Oscar Goodman

July 2013 Contents
Column

The Warner Files

Oscar Being Oscar

An interview with Oscar Goodman

By Richard N. Warner

"Oscar Goodman was born and raised in Philadelphia to well-educated parents who positively encouraged him and his siblings. The parenting strategy paid off with success stories for all the Goodman children. As a young attorney, Oscar Goodman worked under future senator Arlen Spector. From Spector, Goodman learned organization and diligence. The early training formed a foundation that led him to become known as one of the top criminal defense lawyers in the country..."


Eighteen pages, including three images.

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Return of 'The Last Testament'

July 2013 Contents
Column

Just One More Thing

Just when you think it's safe

to go back to the bookstore

By Thomas Hunt

"It is not especially surprising that Enigma Books is hawking a new (released last month) reprint of The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano. I can’t pretend to understand Luciano hero worship or the desire to plunk down a dozen dollars for snake oil in book form. But I do understand the actions of Enigma Books and Last Testament’s surviving coauthor Richard Hammer: The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano has made money before and could make money again. And what could be wrong with that? Writers and publishers are in business to make money..."

Two pages.

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Glimpse of July issue cover

Here is a sneak peek at the cover of July's issue of Informer. (The 88-page issue has a publication date of July 29.)

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April 2013 Issue of Informer

April 2013 Contents
Editorial

There is a degree of discomfort associated with directing attention to the crime history works of Herbert Asbury. In our modern Information Age, Asbury would be well suited to the role of negative example.

He related old underworld legends as they were presented in the sensationalized press, often refusing to challenge their truthfulness and sometimes sensationalizing them even further. While certainly not unknown today, these are unpardonable sins for the modern serious historian.

However, Asbury, who died fifty years ago, did not live to see this technological age, probably never imagined it. With the touch of a few keys on computers or “smart” devices, we now are able to access archives and databases around the world, to hunt down the tiniest facts and access a vast spectrum of interpretations on those facts. For Herbert Asbury, the raw material of history was contained in file drawers of yellowing newspaper clippings (the microfilming of document archives began in his lifetime). Still, even in his day, there were other resources, and he regularly was criticized for not verifying story details, for engaging in exaggeration and occasionally for committing outright errors.

Despite its weaknesses, Asbury’s work is deserving of our recognition for two major reasons. First, that work and its popularity helped to create and to define the field of true crime writing. Second, it served to entice many serious historians—those who read Asbury’s vivid accounts and needed to explore further—to enter the field. In that way, Asbury did advance the cause of factual underworld scholarship. For these reasons, it seems appropriate that we mark the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Asbury’s death with this issue’s lead feature. (Preview)

Also in this issue:

- Lennert van‘t Riet, David Critchley and Steve Turner conclude their Gunmen of the Castellammarese War series with Part 5, Salvatore “Sally Shields” Shillitani. (Preview)

- Bill Feather provides a Lucchese Family Membership Chart. (Preview)

- Edmond Valin exposes two Gambino Crime Family informants. (Preview)

- Richard Warner looks at the evolution of Mafia studies. (Preview)

- Thomas Hunt reviews Mafia Summit by Gil Reavill. (Preview)

- In the News. (Preview)

- 100 Years Ago. (Preview)

Issue has eighty pages, including cover.

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