Chicago Outfit 'hit' in San Fran?

October 2021 issue contents - Feature

Was DeJohn a victim of 'Cheese War'?

Claim: criminals' curd conflict caused California casualty

By Thomas Hunt

R.A. Thayer of 3004 Laguna Street noticed the automobile parked in front of his home on Thursday, May 8, 1947. It was a car built to be noticed. The 1946 Chrysler “Town and Country” convertible had a deep Royal Maroon finish with plenty of chrome accents. The doors and trunk area of the six-passenger “woody” were framed by varnished white ash wood inset with darker mahogany panels...

Sidebar articles:

• Early Chicago shootings involving DiGiovannis
• Golden State often unfriendly to transplanted mobsters

 

See what else is in Informer's October 2021 issue.

 
 

Individuals from Gentile's life story

October 2020 Issue contents - Feature

The others

Significant figures in Gentile’s life story

"Through his lengthy career as a Mafioso in the United States and Italy, Nicola Gentile got to know many people on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and on both sides of the law. In compiling his memoirs, he generally did not hesitate to name names. While some of the individuals featured in his recollections were well known through other sources, a good number came to history’s attention primarily through Gentile. We take a look here at several dozen individuals who contributed significantly to the Gentile life story, paying special attention to lesser known crime figures..."

In this issue, Informer provides biographical information for dozens of individuals, who contributed in interesting ways to his life story, including:
Frank Amato; Albert Anastasia; John "King" Angersola;  Alfonso Attardi; John Bazzano; Joseph Biondo; Fortunato Calabro; Salvatore Calderone; Vincenzo "James" Capizzi; Al Capone; Domenico Catalano; J.C. and Phillip Catalano; Salvatore Catanzaro; Charles "Cadillac Charlie" Cavallaro; Charles Colletti; Dr. Gaetano Conti; Gregorio Conti; Francesco "Three Fingers" Coppola; Antonino "Nino" Cucuzzella; Gaspare D'Amico; Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila; Rosario DeSimone; Salvatore "Sam" DiBella; Dominick "Terry Burns" DiDato; Vito DiGiorgio; Accursio DiMino; Archbishop Ernesto Filippi; Vito Genovese; Umberto Gibilaro; Vito Guardalabene; Leonid Kolosov; Calogero "Big Nose" LaGaipa; Orazio Leone; Salvatore "Lucky Luciano" Lucania; William Magee; Antonino "Mangano" Messina; Carlo, John "Johnny Mag" and Vincent Mangiaracina; Salvatore Maranzano; Luigi Marciante; Ferdinando "Fred" Mauro; Monroe Harrison Meader; Gaspare Messina; Frank "Ciccio" Milano; Joseph Natali; Giuseppe Parlapiano; Filippo Piazza; Valentino Piazza; Pietro Pirro; Aldo Charles Poletti; Saverio Pollaccia; Dr. Giuseppe Romano, Nicola Schiro; Giuseppe "Peppino" Siragusa; Joseph Talarico; Vincenzo "Big Vince" Troia; Gaetano Tropia; King Umberto II; Giovanni "Prince Johnny," James and Arthur Volpe; Andrew, Frank and Joseph Zappala.

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November 2018 issue of Informer

November 2018 issue contents
Editorial

Adhesive tape was a fairly recent invention when robbers began finding it especially handy in their field of endeavor. It was quicker and easier to bind and gag a victim with strips of the sticky material than with cloth or rope. And a roll of tape was far easier to carry around. Due to the novelty of this approach, newspapers dubbed groups that used it, “tape bandits.”

We learn in this issue’s feature by Jeffery S. King (Preview), that notorious gangster George “Baby Face” Nelson once led a group of these enterprising tape bandits.

Also in this issue:

• Saving a person from the electric chair may not always be the same as saving the person’s “life.” Thomas Hunt’s article (Preview) reveals that one wrongly convicted man was emotionally destroyed despite Detective Joseph Petrosino’s heroic efforts to free him from Sing Sing’s Death House.
• Did Albany’s powerful O’Connell Machine ensure the 1930s conviction and electrocution of widow Anna Antonio merely to shield local bootlegging and narcotics rackets? Ellen Poulsen considers the question (Preview).
• Author Christian Cipollini reveals past, present and what might happen if he ever smiled for a photograph (Preview).
• Richard N. Warner explores the unsolved murder of Chicago’s Sam Giancana (Preview).
• Thomas Hunt ponders “Wherefore art thou, [Frank] Romeo?” (Preview).
• Book reviews and announcements (Preview).

Sixty-eight pages.

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Nelson and the Tape Bandits

November 2018 issue contents
Features

Baby Face Nelson

and the Tape Bandits

By Jeffery S. King

In 1930, George “Baby Face” Nelson committed major crimes for the first time with the so-called “Tape Bandits.” The group earned its name by temporarily ensuring the silence of its victims through the use of adhesive tape.
Although the gang had several members, we only know about Nelson, Stanton John Randall (real name John Francis Haggerty) and Harry Lewis Powell (real name Harry Lewis Pinsky)...

Eight pages including twelve images and a half page of notes.

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Who killed Sam? A mystery solved?

November 2018 issue contents
Columns

Warner Files: 

Who killed Sam? A mystery solved?

By Richard N. Warner

Giancana

Earlier this year, on June 27, 2018, Frank Calabrese Jr., son of the late Outfit hitman Frank "the Breeze" Calabrese Sr., gave an interview on WGN-TV in Chicago in which he threw out a potential bombshell revelation into the biggest mystery in the history of the Chicago Outfit: "Who Killed Sam Giancana?"

His answer made a lot of mob-watchers rethink what they thought they knew.

Four pages including five images.

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August 2017 issue of Informer

August 2017 contents
Editorial

This issue's "cover story" is an excerpt from Dock Boss, scheduled for release this summer by Barricade Books. Dock Boss, the story of Eddie McGrath and the mobsters who controlled New York City's West Side waterfront, is the first book-length project by crime historian Neil G. Clarke (Preview).

Also in this issue:

•  Lennert Van`t Riet and David Critchley provide a groundbreaking history of Frank Zito's little-known but influential Springfield, Illinois, Mafia organization (Preview).
•  Justin Cascio explores the career and family connections of the "Capitano," Angelo Di Carlo, who held key underworld positions on both sides of the Atlantic (Preview).
•  Edmond Valin digs through government records to discover the identity of a Bonanno Family informant (Preview).
•  Bill Feather provides details on the founding of twenty-nine United States Mafia organizations (Preview).
•  Richard Warner reviews books on an axe-wielding killer, the origins of street gangs and revered New York law enforcement officer Joseph Petrosino (Preview).
•  In The Warner Files, Richard Warner outlines recent changes in the Chicago Outfit (Preview).

[REMINDER: The Scribd online document-sharing service recently made the business decision to shut down the Scribd Store, one of Informer's electronic edition distribution channels since fall of 2010. At this time, the MagCloud/Blurb service is the sole distributor of Informer print and electronic editions.]

104 Pages

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Frank Zito and the Springfield Mafia

August 2017 contents
Features

Frank Zito

and the little-known

Mafia of Springfield

By Lennert Van`t Riet and David Critchley

"Little attention has been paid to the smaller Mafia families of the United States. Collectively, these overlooked organizations helped to give Cosa Nostra its national range and eventually justified the use of U.S. federal law enforcement power to combat organized crime. The crime family of Springfield, Illinois, is one such entity. Its criminal enterprises were typical of Mafia families, springing from prohibitions against such 'victimless' crimes as bootlegging and gambling and including episodes of violence..."

Thirty-nine pages, nineteen images, endnotes.

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Warner Files: Chicago Outfit

August 2017 contents
Columns

The Warner Files:

What's new in the Chicago Outfit?

By Richard N. Warner

"There have been a lot of changes in City of Big Shoulders over the past ten years. It was ten years ago that the devastatingly successful Family Secrets case took place.  A little over a decade ago, John 'No Nose' Di Fronzo was the 'boss of bosses' of the Syndicate, James 'Little Jimmy' Marcello was the day-to-day boss, and there were four or five operating street crews..."

Five pages, four images.

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October 2013 Issue of Informer

October 2013 Contents
Editorial

The name “Giuseppe Ruffino” occurs often in the history of the Mafia criminal society. Giuseppe Ruffinos have been associated with Mafia operations on both sides of the Atlantic. A number have received a good deal of press ink and interest from historians. In this issue, organized crime historian Joshua Henze takes a close look at one Giuseppe Ruffino who has been largely neglected.

Though involved in a high-profile federal case in the early years of the Twentieth Century, this Ruffino has been virtually forgotten. The reason is unclear. Perhaps he was merely overshadowed by the other underworld figures in the United States and Italy who shared his name. Perhaps he was brushed aside because his primary illicit enterprise was offensive, awkward to write about or at odds with the legendary “rules” of Mafioso conduct. This Giuseppe Ruffino procured young Italian women for American houses of prostitution. (Preview)

Also in this issue of Informer:

- Author Christian Cipollini provides an excerpt from his recently published book Diary of a Motor City Hit Man. (Preview).

- Bill Feather dedicates his latest Mafia Membership Chart to the early Sicilian-Italian underworld of southern California (Preview).

- Columnist Richard N. Warner discusses various organized crime figures who have “found” religion (Preview).

- A recently released biography of Joseph DiCarlo revises the history of the Magaddino Crime Family of western New York (Preview).

- Thomas Hunt reviews Diary of a Motor City Hit Man by Christian Cipollini and discusses its relationship to organized crime history (Preview).

Sixty-eight pages including cover.

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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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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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Capone in St. Pete

October 2012 Contents
Feature article

Al Capone in St. Petersburg

By Scott Deitche

"In January of 2009, a home in the Shore Acres neighborhood of St. Petersburg, Florida, went on sale for $262,000. From the front, the 2,350-square-foot, ten-room house was guarded by two stone lions. Sold for more than half a million dollars at the height of the regional real estate boom a few years earlier, the house entertained some lookers but no buyers. What made the house unique was the claim that it was built by Al Capone for his mother Teresa."

Seven pages, including four photographs, sidebar and one page of notes.

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October 2011 Issue of Informer

October 2011 Contents

Though Gaspare Messina was one of a very small number of American Mafiosi ever to occupy the position of boss of bosses, few remember his name today. There are a number of reasons—including timing, background and overshadowing by more dynamic and tragic figures—that even true crime aficionados have found Messina forgettable.

In the lead feature in this issue, Richard Warner helps make Messina memorable by exploring his origin, his reign in New England, his brief tenure as supreme arbiter of the American Mafia and his quiet retirement in a Boston suburb (preview).

Acquaintances reportedly believed Tommy Carroll was always destined for a violent end. A gangster and bank robber, Carroll lived life on the edge, as he partnered with better known outlaws like “Baby Face” Nelson and John Dillinger. Carroll is the focus of Jeffery S. King’s feature article in this issue (preview).

Informer returns to the New England Mafia for its third feature, the initial article in Thomas Hunt’s series on Providence-based crime boss Raymond “the Man” Patriarca (preview). Also in this issue: Bill Feather provides a membership chart for the early Profaci/Colombo Crime Family (preview). Ed Valin takes another look at the FBI informants in the Chicago Outfit (preview). Patrick Downey deals with gangster combustion (preview). Richard Warner follows up on his July column by addressing additional J. Edgar Hoover rumors (preview). Thom L. Jones tells readers how an interest in sea otters sparked many years of research into the Mafia (preview). Informer reviews Al Capone and His American Boys by William Helmer (preview).

Seventy-six pages. Published October 13, 2011.

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Identifying Underworld Informants

October 2011 Contents
Column
By Edmond Valin

Post-Giancana Outfit was
fertile soil for FBI informants

"A careful examination of declassified documents shows the penetration of the Chicago Outfit by the FBI in the 1960s was greater than is commonly recognized. Taking advantage of the turmoil within the Outfit during boss Sam Giancana’s imprisonment and subsequent departure from Chicago, the FBI appears to have persuaded more than ten made members to share confidential information."

Five pages including a half page of notes and three photographs.

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July 2011 Issue of Informer

July 2011 Contents

Crime historians have puzzled for decades over FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s long denial of the existence of organized crime. Following the Apalachin Mafia convention of 1957 and Joe Valachi’s revelations in the early 1960s, Hoover and his Bureau joined the war on organized crime. Hoover, however, never explained his earlier reluctance , and various theories—some baseless and cruel—have emerged to fill the void in the historical record.

In this issue, author Alex Hortis shares with us a recently discovered handwritten Hoover memo from 1970 that serves as a window into the director’s earlier position (preview). Hortis and Informer columnist Richard Warner (preview) double-team many of the myths that have circulated about Hoover.

The New England Crime Family receives special attention in this issue. We begin with Part 1 of Richard Warner’s history of the Mafia in Boston (preview). A look at some of the better known underworld meeting places on Federal Hill in Providence, Rhode Island (preview), and Bill Feather’s New England Mafia Membership Chart (preview) follow.

In his first article for Informer, historian Ed Valin puts together historical clues to track down two of the FBI’s best confidential informants (preview).

Author Patrick Downey devotes his quarterly Dead Guys in Suits column to a discussion of siblings eliminated by their underworld rivals (preview). Then, in the issue’s final pages, Informer editor/publisher Thomas Hunt looks at an extremely early prediction of the Sicilian Mafia’s demise (preview).

Fifty-six pages. Published July 22, 2011.

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Roemer's Men in the Outfit

July 2011 Contents
Feature Article
By Edmond Valin

Butch Blasi

"In 1965, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson ordered the removal of all devices used by the FBI to listen in on organized crime figures. The order was particularly devastating in Chicago, where for years the FBI had monitored activities and recorded conversations at Outfit hangouts through secret listening devices... In response, the FBI instituted an informant development program, in the hope of nurturing a “double agent” within the Outfit..."

Five and a half pages including three photographs and one page of endnotes.

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In the News

Vol. 3, No. 3, July 2010 Contents

In the News:

• Rivals move against Rizzutos of Montreal.
• Man framed for murder gets $9.9 million.
• Sammartino pleads guilty to loansharking.
• Brooklyn Massullo brothers sentenced to prison.
• Palumbo indicted for 1992 mob murder.
• Buffalo's Cohen charged with gambling.
• Rossetti faces drug-related charges.
• Las Vegas Mob Experience to open in December.
• Gatto of New Jersey dies at 65.
• Seattle's Colacurcio dies at 93.
• Aleman of Chicago, 71, dies in prison hospital.
• Montreal's Cuntrera and bodyguard murdered.
• Riccobene grandson is murdered near home.
• Anastasio, 81, an apparent suicide.

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In the News

Vol. 2, Issue 3, July 2009 Contents

In the News:

• Carmen DiNunzio reaches plea deal in Boston.
• 11 indicted as Bonanno crew in Florida.
• Deputy U.S. marshal leaked prisoner info.
• Nicholas Corozzo sentenced for murder.
• Chicago's Alfonso Tornabene dies at 86.
• New England's Donato Angiulo dies at 86.

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The dreaded D'Andrea

Vol. 2, Issue 2, Apr. 2009 Contents Feature article

A former priest, once jailed for counterfeiting

became Chicago's most feared Mafia boss

The Dreaded D'Andrea

By Richard N. Warner

"Shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 10, 1921, Chicago Mafia boss Anthony D’Andrea went to dinner with two male companions at a Neapolitan restaurant, the Amato Cafe at Taylor and Halsted Streets. They ate, socialized and played cards for hours.

"At about 1:15 Wednesday morning, D’Andrea’s friend Joseph Laspisa drove him home. For two weeks Laspisa had been acting as the underworld leader’s bodyguard and chauffeur.

"D’Andrea needed the protection..."

Twenty-five pages article body including sidebar story. Three pages of endnotes. Eight images

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