Why Maranzano? Why now?

[UPDATE: Immediately following the release of publication, it was learned that the discovered photo labeled "Maranzano" by an Italian periodical was actually of a German murderer.]

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August 2019 issue of Informer

August 2019 issue contents
Editorial

So... why are we discussing

Salvatore Maranzano now?

Researchers have long been bothered by the lack of a photograph of Prohibition Era Mafia leader Salvatore Maranzano.

One decade ago, in the July 2009 issue of Informer, Mafia historian David Critchley discussed a widely circulated mug shot photo that had been passed off as Maranzano. Critchley noted that the image had made the rounds since initial publication in a 1990 book. It had been copied into books, magazines and websites, always captioned as Maranzano and never credited to any specific source. Critchley revealed that the same photo had been printed with an article on British vice criminal Salvatore Messina in an August 1967 London newspaper. He confirmed that the photo was of Messina, not Maranzano, by locating Messina's mug shot in a Scotland Yard resource.

There seem to be no official U.S. government mug shots of Maranzano for the simple reason that Maranzano was not arrested. He was sought by law enforcement on more than one occasion, but never photographed until after his murder. During the police investigation of the killing, two known photographs were taken of the dead Mafia leader. These did not provide much in the way of facial detail. The only other known image of Maranzano was a coroner’s sketch that roughly showed a profile of his face and pinpointed the wounds inflicted on his body.

For the July 2009 issue, Informer attempted to blend the crime scene photos and sketch into an image of the living Maranzano. But there was no method of gauging the accuracy of the result.

Then, early this past April, Informer received an email from a Canadian researcher, who believed he was on the verge of obtaining an actual image of Maranzano. [UPDATE: It has since been proven that this photo too is NOT of Salvatore Maranzano.]

Peter Kalm discovered an old magazine that contained an article and a photograph of Maranzano and told Informer of his find. We initially were skeptical that any published image of the Mafia leader had managed to escape notice for nearly eighty­ eight years. But on April 25, Kalm shared the magazine article and photograph. We noted there were obvious similarities between the image and the crime scene photos, coroner’s sketch and our own blended image of Maranzano.

As he provided the materials, Kalm wrote, “Maranzano has intrigued me since I saw the movie The Valachi Papers years ago. Sadly, it is probably too late for anyone to write a book about his life since there is no one around who remembers him and also so little information about him still exists.”

In case there are some who do not already know, Maranzano was a bootlegger and Mafioso in the New York area during the late 1920s. He rose to command a successful gangland rebel­lion against reigning boss of bosses Giuseppe Masseria in 1930-­31 and took for himself the boss of bosses position. His term in office was merely a few months, as he was assassinated by gunmen working for Salvatore "Charlie Lu­ciano" Lucania in September 1931.

We considered how best to publicize Kalm’s discovery and to make known his vigilance, good fortune and extreme generosity. He indicated that he was uninterested in any personal publicity but hoped the appearance of the photograph would reignite Maranzano research.

It seemed to us that the most appropriate method of bringing the image to the public was to package it in an entire Informer issue that discussed all that we know about Maranzano. While it falls somewhat short of Kalm’s wish for a Maranzano book, we hope it will serve as a foundation for future research.

This issue contains a number of articles that approach the issue from different perspectives. These articles contain some overlapping data, but each is written to address a specific question about Salvatore Maranzano:

• What can we learn from recent discoveries? (Preview.)
• Why was Maranzano important in U.S. Mafia history? (Preview.)
• What did Maranzano certainly NOT look like? (Preview.)
• What was Maranzano up to in Dutchess County, New York? (Preview.)
• Why did Maranzano select Coll to kill "Lucky"? (Preview.)
• What was revealed about Maranzano by those who knew him? (Preview.)
• Where were significant locations of Maranzano’s life and career? (Preview.)
• When did Maranzano ­related events occur? (Preview.)
• Did Maranzano become a United States citizen? (Preview.)
• How has Maranzano been depicted in motion pictures? (Preview.)
• What happened on Sept. 10, 1931? (Preview.)
• What was in the memorandum book? (Preview.)
• What do we know about Maranzano in Sicily? (Preview.)
• Was there really a post­ Maranzano purge? (Preview.)

84 pages including covers and eight and a half pages of advertisements.

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Mafia, moonshine and murder

August 2019 issue contents
Features

Mafia, moonshine and murder

Maranzano brings underworld

mayhem to Dutchess County, NY

By Lennert van`t Riet and David Critchley

A Maranzano distillery

For anyone researching the Mafia in the United States, the name Salvatore Maranzano is a household name. The one-time “boss of bosses,” who overthrew “Joe the Boss” Masseria’s leadership during the well-known Castellammarese War of 1930-31, has been one of the most prominent figures in the history of the American Mafia.

His escapades in New York City during the late 1920s and early 1930s have been widely recorded by, among others, Joseph Valachi, Nicola Gentile and Giuseppe Bonanno. Far less known are Maranzano’s activities in Dutchess County, New York, some ninety miles to the north of Maranzano’s Brooklyn base of operations. Dutchess County played an important part in his rise in Cosa Nostra, providing him financial resources and a secluded location to conduct key crime family business in private.

Thirteen pages including eight images and one and a half pages of notes.

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Why did Maranzano select Coll?

August 2019 issue contents
Features

Why did Maranzano select Coll to kill 'Lucky'?

By Thomas Hunt

Coll

Some of the lingering questions about Salvatore Maranzano relate to his hiring of Vincent “Mad Dog” Coll to murder Salvatore (a.k.a. “Charlie” or “Lucky Luciano”) Lucania: Why did Maranzano select Coll? How was he able to reach out to Coll? Why would Coll agree to serve as a Mafia executioner?

Clear, authoritative answers are not found in available source material, but we can make some educated guesses.

One page.

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Maranzano chronology

August 2019 issue contents
Features

Maranzano chronology

A look at the timing of significant events in Salvatore Maranzano's life and underworld career.

Seven and a half pages including six images and two pages of notes.

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E-book version available for pre-order

The official release date of Informer's special issue on Salvatore Maranzano is still a few weeks away, but the issue - in Kindle e-book form - can be pre-ordered NOW through Amazon.com. (Link: https://amzn.to/32GaLgr or click on the cover image below.)

This is only the second time an Informer issue has been available for purchase through Amazon. It is the first time that an issue has been sold in the Kindle "MOBI" e-book format. (The July 2011 issue was provided for Kindle as a PDF conversion.)

Our usual magazine formats - standard-size print and electronic PDF - will be available soon through the MagCloud service.

Maranzano issue taking shape

 The August 2019 issue of Informer will deal exclusively with Prohibition Era Mafia leader Salvatore Maranzano - life, career, assassination and post-assassination aftermath. Through articles, photos and maps, Informer will tackle the many questions about Maranzano, including:

• Who was Salvatore Maranzano?
• What did he look like? (And what did he certainly NOT look like?)
• What does a recent discovery tell us about him?
• What was said about him by those who knew him in life?
• Where were the locations significant to his life and career?
• When did Maranzano-related events occur?
• Why was he important in U.S. Mafia history?
• How has he been portrayed by Hollywood?
• What do we know of Maranzano's life in Sicily?
• Was there really a post-Maranzano Mafia purge?

Pages for the issue are currently being laid out. (Issue is expected to weigh in at around seventy-two pages.)

Plans call for the August Informer to be released in the usual print and electronic/PDF formats (through the MagCloud service). And, with some luck, the issue also will be available in a Kindle ebook format.

Stay tuned.

Maranzano issue deadlines approach

Articles deadline for this summer's special issue is just a couple of weeks away. Unless an extension is arranged with the editor, all articles must be received by July 8, 2019.

Advertisement deadline is about a month off. If you plan to advertise in this issue, contact us by email by July 15, 2019.

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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Gunmen of the Castellammarese War - Part 5

April 2013 Contents
Feature Article

Gunmen of the Castellammarese War, Part Five 

A lifetime of tangling with the law:

Salvatore 'Sally Shields' Shillitani

By Lennert van‘t Riet, David Critchley and Steve Turner

Salvatore Shillitani

"The fifth and final chapter of our series Gunmen of the Castellammarese War features the life of Salvatore Shillitani, better known as 'Sally Shields.' More than the others mentioned in the series, Shillitani’s life after the Castellammare War was one of incarceration and bending to penitentiary rules. In the criminal world, he was a failure. How Shillitani enrolled in such a life is unclear, but one factor may have been the bad examples he received from relatives..."

Twenty-four pages, including four pages of notes and thirteen photographs.

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October 2012 Issue of Informer

October 2012 Contents
Editorial

For whatever reason, certain figures in crime history attract an inordinate amount of attention from the public. That attention tends to generate legend. And there probably are more underworld legends about Al Capone than any other criminal.

Capone contributed to the growth of these legends through his public appearances and through his travels. While his criminal empire was based in Chicago, he is known to have visited many locations across the Midwestern United States. He also traveled extensively in his native state of New York and in the nearby states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He visited the West Coast and vacationed in the South, eventually settling in Florida. All the locations he visited during his lifetime – and perhaps a fair number of places he never even heard of – have become homes to Capone history and Capone legend.

In this issue, true crime author Scott Deitche tracks down some of the lingering Capone legends in St. Petersburg, Florida, a Capone retreat where the gangland boss reportedly owned considerable real estate. (Preview) Deitche uncovers the properties and businesses that really have historic connections to Capone and his underworld associates.

Also in this issue We present Part 4 of the Gunmen of the Castellammarese War series. Lennert van‘t Riet, David Critchley and Steve Turner examine Dominic “The Gap” Petrelli, close friend and Mafia sponsor of Joe Valachi. (Preview)

Bill Feather provides an early Mafia membership chart for Tampa, Florida. (Preview)

Edmond Valin studies FBI documents to determine which members of the San Jose and San Francisco Mafias were providing information to law enforcement. (Preview)

In the Warner Files, Richard Warner gives his  recommendations for books about New York organized crime figures. (Preview)

Fifty-six pages, including advertising and cover.

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Gunmen of the Castellammarese War - Part 4

October 2012 Contents
Feature article

Gunmen of the Castellammarese War, Part Four

Valachi's Mafia Sponsor:

Dominick 'The Gap' Petrelli

By Lennert van‘t Riet, David Critchley and Steve Turner

"Dominick 'The Gap' Petrelli’s life was filled with intrigue and risk. More an underworld 'fixer' than a Mafia killer, Petrelli sought to steer a course that maximized his business opportunities while avoiding potentially fatal side-effects. The only of our five Castellammarese War gunmen subjects born in mainland Italy, Petrelli came into the world as Domenico Antonio Francesco Petrella."

Twenty-four pages, including twelve photographs and five pages of notes.

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July 2012 Issue of Informer

July 2012 Contents
Editorial

On the rare occasions when the underworld of the Milwaukee area receives attention from historians, that attention generally seems focused on regional Prohibition Era rumrunning or on post-Prohibition organized crime. Milwaukee is inevitably depicted as merely a junior partner of the Chicago Outfit.

Indeed, Milwaukee crime history often blurs with that of the Windy City located ninety miles to its south. But Milwaukee has been much more than a satellite in a Capone-centered universe. The Brew City’s crime history is as distinct and rich as the history of the law-abiding, hardworking Americans who have made up the vast majority of its population. There is much of interest and much of value in the study of the region’s criminal past.

In this issue of Informer, we strive to look at Milwaukee and its southeastern Wisconsin region in a different way. Our lead feature, the debut of crime historian Joshua Henze, turns the clock way back to explore the early roots of Milwaukee organized crime. Henze shows that the history of Milwaukee’s Sicilian underworld society rivals that of any northern United States city. (Preview)

Gavin Schmitt follows with an exhaustive examination of decades of Mafia meddling in the history of Fond du Lac’s successful Grande Cheese Company (Preview). Joshua Henze then returns with an article on Milwaukee-area counterfeiting organizations from the early years of the 20th Century (Preview). Bill Feather completes our coverage of southern Wisconsin crime history with an early Milwaukee-Madison-area Mafia membership chart (Preview).

You will also find in this expanded issue:
• Part 3 of the Gunmen of the Castellammarese War series. This installment focuses on Girolamo “Bobby Doyle” Santuccio (Preview).
• Ellen Poulsen’s review of Patrick Downey’s latest work, Legs Diamond: Gangster (Preview).
• In The Warner Files, columnist Richard Warner provides some reading recommendations for those interested in the New York underworld (Preview).
• An obituary of “Goodfella” Henry Hill (Preview).

108 pages including advertisements and cover
Published July 24, 2012

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Gunmen of the Castellammarese War - Part 3

July 2012 Contents
Feature Article
Third in a series

Gunmen of the Castellammarese War, Part Three

Ex-boxer Girolamo ‘Bobby Doyle’ Santuccio

By Lennert van ‘t Riet, David Critchley and Steve Turner

"Best known to his criminal associates as 'Bobby Doyle,' Santuccio took part in the permanent removals of Masseria allies Joseph Pinzolo, Alfred Mineo and Steve Ferrigno. His later life was something of an anticlimax and, like his wartime contemporaries Domingo and Rannelli, Santuccio died without fanfare..."

Eighteen pages including three pages of notes, eleven photographs and one map.

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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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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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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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Gunmen of the Castellammarese War- Part 1

January 2012 Contents
Feature Article
First of a Series
By David Critchley

'Buster from Chicago' revealed

to be Sebastiano Domingo

By David Critchley

"Until recently, a prolific Maranzano gunman could be identified only by the mysterious moniker of 'Buster from Chicago.' 'Buster was undoubtedly the number one killer in the Maranzano organization,' Chandler underscored, 'and he drew all the important hits.'"

Nine pages including seven photographs, a family tree and one page of notes.

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